Daniel Murdiyarso

Center for International Forestry Research Bogor Indonesia & Department of Geophysics and Meteorology IPB University Bogor

Forest degradation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In the Brazilian Amazon it is responsible for 20 per cent of total emissions (Asner et al. 2005). In Indonesia, the forest stock is decreasing by a rate of six per cent a year, only one-third of which is due to deforestation (Marklund and Schoene 2006). In Africa, the annual rate of...

The upcoming global mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries should include and prioritize tropical peatlands. Forested tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia are rapidly being converted into production systems by introducing perennial crops for lucrative agribusiness, such as oil-palm and pul...

Transboundary pollution from vegetation fires is a recurrent and highly politicised environmental problem in Southeast Asia. This paper is a critical synthesis of the policy response to the severe haze episodes of 1997/1998. It is based on a series of science–policy activities co-ordinated by the Global Change Impacts Centre for Southeast Asia aime...

Forest and land fires are not new to the landscapes of Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, strikingly different perspectives persist about the significance of fires in the tropics to environmental changes and human well-being and consequently how they should be managed. Our synthesis of papers in this special issue suggests both trade-offs and complement...

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) is a global mechanism being debated by the international community, aimed at mitigating dangerous climate change. It is a complex multilevel and multistakeholder process that tends to fulfill multiple goals beyond emission reduction. The lessons we are beginning to learn through a...

For countries’ emission-reduction efforts under the Paris Agreement to be effective, baseline emission/removals levels and reporting must be as transparent and accurate as possible. For Indonesia, which holds among the largest area of tropical peatlands and mangrove forest in the world, it is particularly important for these high-carbon ecosystems...

Mangrove distribution maps are used for a variety of applications, ranging from estimates of mangrove extent, deforestation rates, quantify carbon stocks, to modelling response to climate change. There are multiple mangrove distribution datasets, which were derived from different remote sensing data and classification methods, and so there are some...

Numerous studies claim that rewetting interventions reduce CO2 and increase CH4 fluxes. To verify the claim, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of rewetting on CO2 and CH4 fluxes and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). We identified 28 primary articles eligible for meta-analysis, from which we calculated 48 effect sizes f...

The protection, management and restoration of vegetated ecosystems on land and in the ocean (‘natural climate solutions’) can be a useful strategy for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to help limit global warming. Their potential contribution to reducing net emissions has led to the development of policies and financial incentives for their pr...

In recent decades, catastrophic wildfire episodes within the Sumatran peatland have contributed to a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) modulates the occurrence of fires in Indonesia through prolonged hydrological drought. Thus, assessing peatland vulnerability to fires and understanding the underlying...

Draining deforested tropical peat swamp forests (PSFs) converts greenhouse gas (GHG) sinks to sources and increases the likelihood of fire hazards. Rewetting deforested and drained PSFs before revegetation is expected to reverse this outcome. This study aims to quantify the GHG emissions of deforested PSFs that have been (a) reforested, (b) convert...

Degraded and drained peat swamp forests (PSFs) are major sources of carbon emissions in the forestry sector. Rewetting interventions aim to reduce carbon loss and to enhance the carbon stock. However, studies of rewetting interventions in tropical PSFs are still limited. This study examined the effect of rewetting interventions on carbon dynamics a...

To align with international climate efforts to remain within 1.5 degrees of the earth temperature, Indonesia requires concerted measures from actors to preserve and restore carbon rich ecosystems, especially blue carbon ecosystem. Although studies have suggested the importance of blue carbon ecosystems in contributing to Indonesian climate action,...

Peatlands transformation in Indonesia has caused immense ecological and environmental degradation. Land use conversion has changed this natural carbon sink to a drought- and fire-prone ecosystem. Public awareness to tackle the drought and fire risk in peatlands has led to the development of drought-fire index. Current knowledge states that both cl...

Supplementary material of Gumbricht et al. 2017

Peatlands transformation in Indonesia has caused immense ecological and environmental degradation. Land use conversion has changed this natural carbon sink to a drought- and fire-prone ecosystem. Public awareness to tackle the drought and fire risk in peatlands has led to the development of drought-fire index. Current knowledge states that both cli...

Deforested and converted tropical peat swamp forests are susceptible to fires and are a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, information on the influence of land-use change (LUC) on the carbon dynamics in these disturbed peat forests is limited. This study aimed to quantify soil respiration (heterotrophic and autotrophic), net p...

Mangrove ecosystems are widely distributed across Indonesia's shores and benefit coastal societies through their valuable ecosystem goods and services. These coastal forests sequester and store large amounts of atmospheric carbon as forms of biomass, necromass, and organic soil or sediment. This substantial carbon storage capacity is now being reco...

Until recently, tropical peat swamp forests in Indonesia have been subject to increasing pressure from land‐use change and excessive drainage. This has increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and risk of fires. Five tropical peat landscapes under different management regimes were selected and assessed with regards to GHG emissions and vulnerabilit...

Peatland restoration is a complex process that requires continuous monitoring to enable an adaptive, iterative landscape approach that meets local conditions, needs and aspirations. Peatland restoration monitoring can inform design, strategy, site selection and management approaches, as well as improve restoration outcomes through adjustments. Test...

West Papua's Bintuni Bay is Indonesia's largest contiguous mangrove block, only second to the world's largest mangrove in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. As almost 40% of these mangroves are designated production forest, we assessed the effects of commercial logging on forest structure, biomass recovery, and soil carbon stocks and burial in five-year i...

For decades, mangrove forests have been under tremendous pressure due to deforestation and conversion. To sustainably manage the mangroves that remain, an ecosystem approach to management is essential. Two different management regimes – conservation and restoration – were assessed, looking at their respective effects on forest structure and carbon...

Aim Mangrove wetlands span broad geographical gradients, resulting in functionally diverse tree communities. We asked whether latitudinal variation, allometric scaling relationships and species composition influence mangrove forest structure and biomass allocation across biogeographical regions and distinct coastal morphologies. Location Global....

Conserving high carbon density tropical peat forests is one of the most cost-efficient strategies for climate change mitigation at national and global levels. Over past decades, large areas of tropical peat forests have been converted to oil palm plantation in Indonesia resulting in significant carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Here, we quantif...

Delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires balancing demands on land between agriculture (SDG 2) and biodiversity (SDG 15). The production of vegetable oils and, in particular, palm oil, illustrates these competing demands and trade-offs. Palm oil accounts for ~40% of the current global annual demand for vegetable oil as food, ani...

Peatlands are accumulations of partially decayed organic soil that cover approximately 3% of Earth’s surface and have been shown to serve essential environmental and ecological functions such as sequestering carbon, purifying water, and providing habitat for organisms. However, peatlands are threatened by pressures from agriculture, urban developme...

Conserving high carbon density tropical peat forests is one of the most 2 cost-efficient strategies for climate change mitigation at national and global levels. 3 Over past decades, large areas of tropical peat forests have been converted to oil palm 4 plantation in Indonesia resulting in significant carbon emissions into the atmosphere. 5 Here, we...

Authors. 2020. Effects of permeable barriers on total ecosystem carbon stocks of mangrove forests and abandoned ponds in Demak District, Central Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 5298-5307. In this study, we observed the effects of constructing permeable barriers in the low-lying coastal zone and severely eroded coast of Demak District, Central Ja...

Integration of peatlands into land-use monitoring systems is central to the conservation of their carbon storage – be they conserved, degraded or restored. Healthy peatlands mitigate climate change, enhance adaptive capacity and maintain ecosystem services and biodiversity. Peatlands are starting to receive a high level of attention and the scienti...

Globally, carbon-rich mangrove forests are deforested and degraded due to land-use and land-cover change (LULCC). The impact of mangrove deforestation on carbon emissions has been reported on a global scale; however, uncertainty remains at subnational scales due to geographical variability and field data limitations. We present an assessment of blu...

HIGHLIGHTS 1. With around 3 million hectares, Indonesia houses almost a quarter of the world's mangroves, larger than any continent. 2. To date, they face tremendous pressures from aquaculture and agriculture development with current loss of 1.2% annually. 3. Mainstreaming mangrove sustainable management through a national regulatory framework and...

Mangroves sequester large quantities of carbon (C) that become significant sources of greenhouse gases when disturbed through land‐use change. Thus, they are of great value to incorporate into climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. In response, a global network of mangrove plots was established to provide policy‐relevant ecological da...

Globally, carbon-rich mangrove forests are deforested and degraded due to land-use and land-cover change (LULCC). The impact of mangrove deforestation on carbon emissions has been reported on a global scale; however, uncertainty remains at subnational scales due to geographical variability and field data limitations. We present an assessment of blu...

Mangrove organic carbon is primarily stored in soils, which contain more than two-thirds of total mangrove ecosystem carbon stocks. Despite increasing recognition of the critical role of mangrove ecosystems for climate change mitigation, there is limited understanding of soil organic carbon sequestration mechanisms in undisturbed low-latitude mangr...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

We welcome the attention given to forest and trees by the Report “The global tree restoration potential” (5 July, p. 76), in which J.-F. Bastin et al. study the potential of tree cover to reduce climate change. However, we are concerned by their neglect of the water cycle.

Forests and trees are key to solving water availability problems in the face of climate change and to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. A recent global assessment of forest and water science posed the question: How do forests matter for water? Here we synthesize science from that assessment, which shows that forests and wa...

The term Blue Carbon (BC) was first coined a decade ago to describe the disproportionately large contribution of coastal vegetated ecosystems to global carbon sequestration. The role of BC in climate change mitigation and adaptation has now reached international prominence. To help prioritise future research, we assembled leading experts in the fie...

Mangroves shift from carbon sinks to sources when affected by anthropogenic land‐use and land‐cover change (LULCC). Yet, the magnitude and temporal scale of these impacts are largely unknown. We undertook a systematic review to examine the influence of LULCC on mangrove carbon stocks and soil greenhouse gas (GHG) effluxes. A search of 478 data poin...

Restoration of deforested and drained tropical peat swamp forests is globally relevant in the context of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The seasonal flux of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) in a restoration concession in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, was measured in the two contrasting lan...

Indonesia and Peru harbor some of the largest lowland tropical peatland areas. Indonesian peatlands are subject to much greater anthropogenic activity than Peru’s, including drainage, logging, agricultural conversion, and burning, resulting in high greenhouse gas and particulate emissions. To derive insights from the Indonesian experience, we explo...

Tropical wetlands such as peat swamp forests (PSFs) have been known globally as one of the carbon (C)-rich ecosystems. However, there is still a lack of understanding on the C cycle in PSFs, especially in association with land use and cover changes (e.g., ecosystem degradation and restoration). This study presents the C stocks, removals, and emissi...

Understanding the movement of water through peat is essential for effective conservation and management strategies for peatlands. Saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ks, describes water movement through the peat profile. However, the spatial variability of Ks in tropical peatlands and the effects of land conversion on peat characteristics are poorly...

Tropical peat swamp forests (PSF) are characterized by high quantities of carbon (C) stored as organic soil deposits due to waterlogged conditions which slows down decomposition. Globally, Peru has one of the largest expanse of tropical peatlands, located primarily within the Pastaza-Marañón river basin in the Northwestern Peru. Peatland forests in...

Tropical peat swamp forests are carbon-rich ecosystems that have been threatened by high rates of land use change (LUC). Despite the ecosystem’s shifts from sequestering carbon (C) to emitting carbon, few studies have quantified the changes in ecosystem productivity associated with LUC in tropical peatlands. This study quantified net primary produc...

It is widely known that tropical peatlands, including peat swamp forests (PSFs), provide numerous ecosystem services in both spatial and temporal dimensions. These include their role as large stores for organic carbon, which when not managed well could be released as carbon dioxide and methane, accelerating climate warming. Massive destruction and...

This Occasional Paper is the result of a large collaborative effort by fire scientists and practitioners who believe that learning to co-exist with changing fire activity is not only possible but necessary if we, as a global society, are to adapt to climate change and keep our natural and cultural landscapes healthy, resilient, and safe for the nex...

Water-to-air carbon dioxide fluxes from tropical coastal waters are an important but understudied component of the marine carbon budget. Here, we investigate drivers of carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) in a relatively pristine mangrove-seagrass embayment on a tropical island (Bali, Indonesia). Observations were performed over eight underway s...

Mangroves provide a number of important ecosystem services to humanity but their persistence is threatened from deforestation, conversion, and climate change. The Mahakam Delta was once among the largest mangrove forests in Southeast Asia comprising 2% of Indonesia’s total mangroves. Currently, about 62% of this extensive mangrove in the Mahakam De...

IUFRO World Series Volume 38

In this chapter, we review current scientific understanding and hypotheses at seven system delineations that build up from the level of a ‘tree’ interacting with water, to that of a social-ecological system at the scale of landscapes. A system delineation separates internal entities that in-teract dynamically from external entities that may have a...

Mangrove ecosystems are often referred to as "land builders" because of their ability to trap sediments transported from the uplands as well as from the oceans. The sedimentation process in mangrove areas is influenced by hydro-geomorphic settings that represent the tidal range and coastal geological formation. We estimated the sedimentation rate i...

This study examines underlying reasons for differences among land-based greenhouse gas flux estimates in Indonesia, where six national inventories reported average emissions of between 0.4 and 1.1 Gt CO2e yr⁻¹ over the 2000–2012 period. The large range among estimates is only somewhat smaller than Indonesia's GHG mitigation commitment. To determine...

Deforestation and draining of the peatlands in equatorial SE Asia has greatly increased their flammability, and in September–October 2015 a strong El Niño-related drought led to further drying and to widespread burning across parts of Indonesia, primarily on Kalimantan and Sumatra. These fires resulted in some of the worst sustained outdoor air pol...

Knowledge of carbon footprints of eco- systems is important for both consumers and policy makers. In spite of differences in experimental methods, mangrove composition/structure, and land-use approaches, our study and those referenced in Henriksson et al. conclude that the carbon footprint of shrimp arising from mangrove conver- sion is about the l...

This training material describes about the concept and application of using IPCC (2006) - Flux Change Approach in measuring carbon emission or removal from land use changes.

Heterotrophic respiration is a major component of the soil C balance however we critically lack understanding of its variation upon conversion of peat swamp forests in tropical areas. Our research focused on a primary peat swamp forest and two oil palm plantations aged 1 (OP2012) and 6 years (OP2007). Total and heterotrophic soil respiration were m...

Abstract Background A large proportion of the world’s tropical peatlands occur in Indonesia where rapid conversion and associated losses of carbon, biodiversity and ecosystem services have brought peatland management to the forefront of Indonesia’s climate mitigation efforts. We evaluated peat volume from two commonly referenced maps of peat distri...