Biodiversity, ecosystem functions and policy across a tropical forest modification gradient
Lead Research Organisation:
NERC CEH (Up to 30.11.2019)
Department Name: Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects
Abstract
Tropical forests support over two-thirds of the world's terrestrial biodiversity. However, between 35% and 50% of tropical forests have already been degraded, and the rate of deforestation continues to increase. Secondary forests, plantations and other human-modified habitats now dominate tropical landscapes, leading to concerns that human degradation of these landscapes will elevate greenhouse gas emissions and jeopardise ecosystem services at local, regional and global scales. The area of protected forests is unlikely to increase greatly in the future, so the persistence of tropical biodiversity and the important biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem services associated with it will depend to a large extent on the way we treat the wider tropical landscape. The Human Modified Tropical Forests programme seeks to 'significantly improve our understanding of the links between biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles in tropical forests' through 'integrated observations and modelling linked to gradients in forest modification'. To contribute towards this goal our consortium will use surveys along a modification gradient within the SAFE landscape in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) to detect patterns, combined with manipulative field experiments to gain a mechanistic understanding of biodiversity-function linkages. We will assess links between above- and belowground components of tropical biodiversity and investigate the extent to which different elements of biodiversity (e.g. species of conservation concern) are associated with measures of ecosystem function (decomposition processes and biogeochemical cycles). We will then upscale from the experimental sites to the landscape-scale to generate spatial layers of ecosystem function, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas fluxes to inform policy scenario modeling. Our work will thus (1) characterise soil microbial function and measuring associated biogeochemical fluxes; (2) Experimentally test the links between aboveground biodiversity and soil function; (3) Build and add to existing datasets for bird and mammals, and explore correlations between ecosystem functioning and the distribution of species of conservation concern; and (4) Explore policy scenarios for optimising biodiversity and function protection.
Planned Impact
The project will generate high quality research that will improve our comprehension of the impact of anthropogenic land-use alterations on the natural world. It will contribute greatly to the pool of excellent studies being published by UK academics, supporting our reputation as world-leaders in the field of global environmental change. To this end, the project is highly relevant to the NERC mission and delivers in relation to both its strategic 'biodiversity' and 'climate system' themes.
Who might benefit from this research? We have identified 5 key stakeholder groups listed below.
1: Academic community: please refer to the 'Academic Beneficiaries' section for details.
2: Oil palm and forestry industry groups: including oil palm producers (e.g. Sime Darby, Benta Wawasan), government agencies (e.g. Malaysian Palm Oil Board, MOPB; Indonesian Palm Oil Association, GAPKI; Sabah Forestry Department; Sabah Parks Department), research organisations (e.g. Center for International Forestry Research, CIFOR; Royal Society's SEnSOR programme) and consultancies (e.g. WildAsia Malaysia, Daemeter Consulting Indonesia, People Nature Consulting Indonesia, REDD+ Task Force).
3: UK and EU policy-makers: such as the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC; UK government department for international climate policy), Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra; producer of the UK Statement on Sustainable Palm Oil), Department for International Development (DFID; funder of research into poverty alleviation through oil palm production), and the European Commission (who make EU-wide decisions pertaining to palm oil production and consumption via instruments such as the Renewable Fuels Directive).
4. Non-governmental organisations: comprising of those working in forest-agricultural landscapes (e.g. Hutan- Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project, Greenpeace, WWF, Conservation International, Rainforest Foundation).
5: General public: who demonstrate a keen awareness of tropical forest ecology, threatened species, oil palm production and climate change issues.
How might they benefit from this research?
1: Academic community: please see 'Academic Beneficiaries'
2 & 4. Oil palm and forestry industry groups/Non-governmental organisations: our project findings will provide recommendations on how to maximise profitability of oil palm plantations while maintaining, or even enhancing, ecosystem function and biodiversity. This state-of-the-art knowledge will benefit organisations interested in both sustainable oil palm production and forestry, particularly in the context of policies (REDD+) and certification schemes (e.g. Forest Stewardship Council, FSC; Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, RSPO; Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels) . By engaging these organisations in knowledge exchange throughout the programme of research, we can ensure that our work will be of value in terms of 'real-world' implementation and impact.
3: UK and EU policy-makers: increasing sustainable oil palm agriculture and reducing forest degradation/loss are key policy objectives globally. Our results will provide an informative evidence-base to support policy decision-making in this area, which is currently highly controversial, contradictory and dynamic (e.g. the recently introduced 'Nutella Amendment' in France, that has seen taxes on palm oil products increase by 300% due to environmental concerns; the recent decision by the EU to advocate palm oil produced according to RSPO guidelines as 'sustainable').
5: General public: the project will be of interest to the general population worldwide, as indicated by the substantial media coverage on tropical biodiversity and the associated impacts of human activities. This is an important means by which we can engage/inform the public about the value of biodiversity (e.g. its intrinsic worth, economic significance, ecosystem service provision) and promote awareness of sustainable use and conservation.
Who might benefit from this research? We have identified 5 key stakeholder groups listed below.
1: Academic community: please refer to the 'Academic Beneficiaries' section for details.
2: Oil palm and forestry industry groups: including oil palm producers (e.g. Sime Darby, Benta Wawasan), government agencies (e.g. Malaysian Palm Oil Board, MOPB; Indonesian Palm Oil Association, GAPKI; Sabah Forestry Department; Sabah Parks Department), research organisations (e.g. Center for International Forestry Research, CIFOR; Royal Society's SEnSOR programme) and consultancies (e.g. WildAsia Malaysia, Daemeter Consulting Indonesia, People Nature Consulting Indonesia, REDD+ Task Force).
3: UK and EU policy-makers: such as the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC; UK government department for international climate policy), Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra; producer of the UK Statement on Sustainable Palm Oil), Department for International Development (DFID; funder of research into poverty alleviation through oil palm production), and the European Commission (who make EU-wide decisions pertaining to palm oil production and consumption via instruments such as the Renewable Fuels Directive).
4. Non-governmental organisations: comprising of those working in forest-agricultural landscapes (e.g. Hutan- Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project, Greenpeace, WWF, Conservation International, Rainforest Foundation).
5: General public: who demonstrate a keen awareness of tropical forest ecology, threatened species, oil palm production and climate change issues.
How might they benefit from this research?
1: Academic community: please see 'Academic Beneficiaries'
2 & 4. Oil palm and forestry industry groups/Non-governmental organisations: our project findings will provide recommendations on how to maximise profitability of oil palm plantations while maintaining, or even enhancing, ecosystem function and biodiversity. This state-of-the-art knowledge will benefit organisations interested in both sustainable oil palm production and forestry, particularly in the context of policies (REDD+) and certification schemes (e.g. Forest Stewardship Council, FSC; Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, RSPO; Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels) . By engaging these organisations in knowledge exchange throughout the programme of research, we can ensure that our work will be of value in terms of 'real-world' implementation and impact.
3: UK and EU policy-makers: increasing sustainable oil palm agriculture and reducing forest degradation/loss are key policy objectives globally. Our results will provide an informative evidence-base to support policy decision-making in this area, which is currently highly controversial, contradictory and dynamic (e.g. the recently introduced 'Nutella Amendment' in France, that has seen taxes on palm oil products increase by 300% due to environmental concerns; the recent decision by the EU to advocate palm oil produced according to RSPO guidelines as 'sustainable').
5: General public: the project will be of interest to the general population worldwide, as indicated by the substantial media coverage on tropical biodiversity and the associated impacts of human activities. This is an important means by which we can engage/inform the public about the value of biodiversity (e.g. its intrinsic worth, economic significance, ecosystem service provision) and promote awareness of sustainable use and conservation.
Publications
Drewer J
(2021)
Comparing Soil Nitrous Oxide and Methane Fluxes From Oil Palm Plantations and Adjacent Riparian Forests in Malaysian Borneo
in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
Drewer J
(2021)
Monoterpenes from tropical forest and oil palm plantation floor in Malaysian Borneo/Sabah: emission and composition.
in Environmental science and pollution research international
Drewer J
(2021)
Comparison of greenhouse gas fluxes from tropical forests and oil palm plantations on mineral soil
in Biogeosciences
Drewer J
(2020)
Linking Nitrous Oxide and Nitric Oxide Fluxes to Microbial Communities in Tropical Forest Soils and Oil Palm Plantations in Malaysia in Laboratory Incubations
in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
Drewer J
(2021)
Monoterpenes from tropical forest and oil palm plantation floor in Malaysian Borneo/Sabah: emission and composition
in Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Drewer Julia
(2017)
The impact of land-use change from forest to oil palm on soil greenhouse gas and volatile organic compound fluxes in Malaysian Borneo
in EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
Kerdraon D
(2020)
Litter Inputs, but Not Litter Diversity, Maintain Soil Processes in Degraded Tropical Forests-A Cross-Continental Comparison
in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
Luke S
(2018)
Riparian buffers in tropical agriculture: Scientific support, effectiveness and directions for policy
in Journal of Applied Ecology
Skiba U
(2020)
Oil palm plantations are large sources of nitrous oxide, but where are the data to quantify the impact on global warming?
in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
Description | The most significant achievements to data are an unprecedented comprehensive data set of greenhouse gas fluxes (CO2, N2O, CH4 and VOC) and associated soil variables comparing forests of different degradation with oil palm plantations of different ages and riparian buffer strips. Objective 1a: 'Quantify soil CO2, N2O, CH4 and VOC fluxes across a gradient of tropical land-use intensity'; Objective 1b: investigating the impact of changes in rainfall on soil nitric oxide, N2O, CH4 and CO2 fluxes (laboratory based scenario studies); Objective 1c: 'The impact of oil palm management on soil nutrient translocation to riparian buffer strips and waters' (Top-up fund). Objective 1 has been partially met: all measurements are completed, and data are currently analysed in preparation for peer review publication. Objective 2: 'Explore the relationship between the structure and composition of soil microbial communities and biogeochemical cycles and fluxes': Microbial diversity analysis is in progress. Objective 3: 'Generate predictive models of CH4, N2O, VOC fluxes and soil CO2 efflux using the JULES land surface model, and compare modelled values with those obtained empirically': Emission factors are under development based on objective 1 data and the literature. Preparation of JULES parameters are in progress |
Exploitation Route | The findings from this project are relevant to 1) The policy maker and stakeholder: the impact of oil palm on the country's greenhouse gas burden. The importance of buffer strips in reducing nitrogen leaching to rivers and knowledge that nitrous oxide emissions from riparian forests are much larger than from a 'normal' forest, and can be as large as from oil palm plantations. 2) The climate scientist: data to validate climate models 3) The molecular scientist: advancements in understanding the role of microbial biodiversity in determining greenhouse gas emissions, especially those linked to the nitrogen cycle. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Environment |
Description | The human modified forest program has provided the opportunity for the biodiversity and biogeochemistry scientific community to come together and learn from each other and improve understanding of the complexity of the environmental problems we try to solve. This is an important impact within the academic community (although not to be reported here). At the proposal writing stage only very few studies on the impact of landuse change from tropical forests to oil palm were available in the peer reviewed literature. The impact of our contribution has created general awareness amongst the academic community and their students via lectures and talks at conferences which are attended by the academic community as well as policy makers and stakeholders ( in our case the oil palm industry), i.e. the 'Heart of Borneo Conference: Enabling and Empowering Conservation Through Science-Policy Interface, Conservation Finance and Community Engagement' 8-9 Nov 2016 and 'The International conference on Oil Palm and the Environment (ICOPE): Sustainable Palm Oil and Climate Change: The Way Forward Through Mitigation and Adaptation, 16-18 March 2016, Bali, Indonesia'. Furthermore, we have created awareness of greenhouse gas emissions from oil palm plantations by directly talking to the staff working for the oil palm companies and also through presenting talks at the Universiti of Malaysia Sabah. We have disseminated our findings at EGU meetings by co-convening and presenting at tropical / oil palm related sessions, and have writing 3 peer review publications (and one submitted) on the impact of oil palm plantations on greenhouse gas emissions. Our papers have demonstrated, that replacing forests with oil palm plantations increases soil N2O emissions and reduces methane uptake by soils. But, riparian forests emit more N2O than oil palm plantations and are a valuable sink for methane. More such studies are essential to enable Malaysia to provide a robust calculation of their greenhouse gas emissions, and develop UNFCCC Tier 2 emission factors to accurately determine their emissions, and to understand on how to mitigate these oil palm, and riparian related greenhouse gas emissions. |
First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Education,Environment |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Description | NERc Human Modified Tropical Forest Program - Top up Fund |
Amount | £312,495 (GBP) |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2016 |
End | 03/2020 |
Title | GHG chamber field data |
Description | Drewer, Julia, Leduning, Melissa, Sentian, Justin, & Skiba, Ute. (2019). Soil greenhouse gas fluxes and associated parameters from forest and oil palm in the SAFE landscape [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3251899 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Base of peer reviewed publication in preparation |
URL | http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3251899 |
Title | GHG lab study data |
Description | Drewer, Julia, Leduning, Melissa, Zhao, Jun, Gubry-Rangin, Cécile, & Skiba, Ute. (2019). Linking potential greenhouse gas and NO fluxes to soil microbial communities in incubation experiments with soil from the SAFE landscape [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3251901 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Base of peer reviewed publication |
URL | http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3251901 |
Title | Riparian GHG data |
Description | Drewer, Julia, Kuling, Harry John, Sentian, Justin, & Skiba, Ute. (2019). Soil greenhouse gas fluxes along transects from oil palm to riparian forests in the SAFE landscape [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3251886 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | will be base of peer reviewed publication |
URL | http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3251886 |
Title | Soil VOC dataset |
Description | Published dataset of measured soil VOC fluxes |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Dataset base for peer reviewed publication in preparation |
URL | http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3698115 |
Description | PhD student Hydrology |
Organisation | Malaysian University of Sabah |
Department | Faculty of Science and Natural Resources |
Country | Malaysia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | This PhD studentship is funded by the NERC Human Modified Tropical Forest Program, and awarded to the Universiti of Malaysia Sabah. Julia Drewer and Ute Skiba will contribute to the PhD student supervision with advice on design of the experiment, facilities and biogeochemistry expertise. |
Collaborator Contribution | The main PhD student supervision and hydrology expertise will be provided by Prof Kawi Bidin and Dr Justin Sentian, Faculty of Science and Natural Resources , UMS. The PhD candidate will be Harry John Kuling, who appears to be very capable. CEH (U Skiba and J Drewer) have co-supervised his MSc project in collaboration with the Universiti of Malaysia Sabah. |
Impact | Very slow negotiations between the University Malaysia Sabah and SEARRP regarding the money transfer for this studentship has caused problems, in that the student allocated to this study in 2015 could not start. This has now been resolved (Dec17!), and we hope that a new student will start in Oct 2018. Unfortunately the money issue has not been resolved. An email (8th March 2019) indicated that SEARRP has transfered the money, but the Universiti of Malaysia Sabah has not received the money. The student will not be able to start before autumn 2019. This is the same situation now (March 2022), Dr Justin Sentian emailed the below update: From: JUSTIN SENTIAN - Sent: 15 February 2022 07:07 To: Ute Skiba Subject: How are you doing Dear Ute How are you doing? Hope you are fine. It has been quite sometimes stranded here in Sabah due to COVID-19. Just mention a fe thing a) The research grant (Glen) seemed to be stalled...no funding was disbursed to UMS as agreed..so I leave it as it is. Geln is not responding to UMS email/my email for the last two years |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | PhD studentship: Molecular biodiversity |
Organisation | Malaysian University of Sabah |
Department | Biotechnology Research Institute |
Country | Malaysia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Microbial Diversity and Functional Activities Relationship to Soil Properties and Microclimate Across Land-use Gradient, CEH will co-supervise the PhD student, by providing advise on molecular (Rob Griffiths) and biogeochemistry (Ute Skiba) questions. This studentship is funded by the NERC Human Modified Tropical Forest Program. |
Collaborator Contribution | Dr Vijay Kumar, Universiti Malaysia Sabah is a molecular biologist with access to good modern molecular facilities and in charge of this PhD project. |
Impact | Very slow negotiations between the University Malaysia Sabah and SEARRP regarding the money transfer for this studentship has caused problems, in that the student allocated to this study in 2015 could not start. This has now been resolved (Dec17!), and we hope that a new student will start in Oct 2018.Unfortunately this has not been resolved.An email (8th March 2019) indicated that SEARRP has transferred the money, but the Universiti of Malaysia Sabah has not received the money. The student will not be able to start before autumn 2019. UMS is currently looking for a potential PhD candidate. I have received the below email from my collaborator Dr Justin Sentian, stating thta the money has not been transferred. From: JUSTIN SENTIAN - Sent: 15 February 2022 07:07 To: Ute Skiba Subject: How are you doing Dear Ute How are you doing? Hope you are fine. It has been quite sometimes stranded here in Sabah due to COVID-19. Just mention a fe thing a) The research grant (Glen) seemed to be stalled...no funding was disbursed to UMS as agreed..so I leave it as it is. Geln is not responding to UMS email/my email for the last two years |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Universiti Malaysia Sabah |
Organisation | Malaysian University of Sabah |
Department | School of Science and Technology |
Country | Malaysia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The collaboration with Dr Justin Sentian is formalised through a subcontract. Prior to this HMTF project I collaborated with Dr Sentian co-supervising a MSc student funded by CEH internal funds and linked to the NERC OP3 project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Universiti Malaysia Sabah staff and students carry out most of the greenhouse gas and soil measurements, and sample analysis for soil properties is done by Forest Research Sandakan. |
Impact | -Skiba,U., Rees,R., Siong,J. & Sentian,J. 2012. Non CO2 greenhouse gas sources from managed and natural soils -: fluxes and mitigation. Journal of Oil Palm and The Environment, 3, 107-113. The above paper led to the collaboration of UKCEH with the Universiti Malaysia Sabah and led to 5 peer reviewed papers including PhD student M.M Leduning, MSc student H.J. Kuling, supervisor J Sentian (University Malaysia Sabah) and N Majalap (Forest Research Centre, Sandakan) with first author Drewer 2020 & 2021. -Drewer J, Zhao J, Leduning M M, Levy P E, Sentian J, Gubry-Rangin C and Skiba U M 2020 Linking Nitrous Oxide and Nitric Oxide Fluxes to Microbial Communities in Tropical Forest Soils and Oil Palm Plantations in Malaysia in Laboratory Incubations Front. For. Glob. Chang. 3 1-14 https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00004 -Drewer, J., Leduning, M. M., Griffiths, R. I., Goodall, T., Levy, P. E., Cowan, N., Comyn-Platt, E., Hayman, G., Sentian, J., Majalap, N., and Skiba, U. M. 2021b Comparison of greenhouse gas fluxes and microbial communities from tropical forest and adjacent oil palm plantations on mineral soil, Biogeosciences 18 (5) 1559 -1575. -Drewer, J., Leduning, M.M., Purser, G., Cash, J.M., Sentian, J., Skiba U.M. 2021a Monoterpenes from tropical forest and oil palm plantation floor in Malaysian Borneo/Sabah: emission and composition Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-11. -Drewer, J., Kuling, H.J., Cowan, N.J., Majalap, N., Sentian, J., Skiba, U. 2021c Comparing soil nitrous oxide and methane fluxes from oil palm plantations and adjacent riparian forests. Front. For. Glob. Change, 27 September 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.738303. -Drewer J, Zhao J, Leduning M M, Levy P E, Sentian J, Gubry-Rangin C and Skiba U M 2020 Linking Nitrous Oxide and Nitric Oxide Fluxes to Microbial Communities in Tropical Forest Soils and Oil Palm Plantations in Malaysia in Laboratory Incubations Front. For. Glob. Chang. 3 1-14 https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00004 |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Presentation at BSSS |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation at Soils and Sustainable Development Goals - BSSS Annual Conference Soils and Sustainable Development Goals conference at Lancaster University on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th September 2018. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.soils.org.uk/2018-annual-conference-soils-and-sustainable-development-goals |
Description | R Griffiths. Department Seminar "Illuminating the black box of soil Diversity and function" University of York, January 2018 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | University departmental seminar |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Universiti Malaysia Sabah, lecture at the Science and Technology Dept. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Ute Skiba gave a general lecture on greenhouse gases: emission sources, how they are produced and the relevance to landuse change from forest to oil palm in Malaysia. The main purpose was education, going beyond what is taught in the undergraduate curriculum. The talk sparked interest and many questions, and hopefully made an impact, but we have not had this feedback. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |