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Biofuel plantations on forested lands: double jeopardy for biodiversity and climate.

Danielsen, Finn, Beukema, Hendrien, Burgess, Neil D., Parish, Faizal, Bruhl, Carsten A., Donald, Paul F., Murdiyarso, Daniel, Phalan, Ben, Reijnders, Lucas, Struebig, Matthew J., and others. (2009) Biofuel plantations on forested lands: double jeopardy for biodiversity and climate. Conservation Biology, 23 (2). pp. 348-358. ISSN 1523-1739. (doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01096.x) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:31185)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01096.x

Abstract

The growing demand for biofuels is promoting the expansion of a number of agricultural commodities, including oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Oil-palm plantations cover over 13 million ha, primarily in Southeast Asia, where they have directly or indirectly replaced tropical rainforest. We explored the impact of the spread of oil-palm plantations on greenhouse gas emission and biodiversity. We assessed changes in carbon stocks with changing land use and compared this with the amount of fossil-fuel carbon emission avoided through its replacement by biofuel carbon. We estimated it would take between 75 and 93 years for the carbon emissions saved through use of biofuel to compensate for the carbon lost through forest conversion, depending on how the forest was cleared. If the original habitat was peatland, carbon balance would take more than 600 years. Conversely, planting oil palms on degraded grassland would lead to a net removal of carbon within 10 years. These estimates have associated uncertainty, but their magnitude and relative proportions seem credible. We carried out a meta-analysis of published faunal studies that compared forest with oil palm. We found that plantations supported species-poor communities containing few forest species. Because no published data on flora were available, we present results from our sampling of plants in oil palm and forest plots in Indonesia. Although the species richness of pteridophytes was higher in plantations, they held few forest species. Trees, lianas, epiphytic orchids, and indigenous palms were wholly absent from oil-palm plantations. The majority of individual plants and animals in oil-palm plantations belonged to a small number of generalist species of low conservation concern. As countries strive to meet obligations to reduce carbon emissions under one international agreement (Kyoto Protocol), they may not only fail to meet their obligations under another (Convention on Biological Diversity) but may actually hasten global climate change. Reducing deforestation is likely to represent a more effective climate-change mitigation strategy than converting forest for biofuel production, and it may help nations meet their international commitments to reduce biodiversity loss.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01096.x
Additional information: Unmapped bibliographic data: Y1 - 2009/04// [EPrints field already has value set] M3 - 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01096.x [Field not mapped to EPrints] JA - Conserv Biol [Field not mapped to EPrints]
Uncontrolled keywords: Agriculture, Animals, Arecaceae, Biodiversity, Bioelectric Energy Sources, Greenhouse Effect, Invertebrates, Plant Oils, Trees, Vertebrates
Subjects: Q Science > QH Natural history > QH75 Conservation (Biology)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation > DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology)
Depositing User: Matthew Struebig
Date Deposited: 03 Oct 2012 11:12 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:09 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/31185 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Struebig, Matthew J..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2058-8502
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