Management of Tropical Forests and their Ecosystem Services

Management of Tropical
Forests and their Ecosystem
Services
Abdul-Rahim Nik
1
Outline
• Extent and distribution of tropical
forest
• Issues & management of tropical
forest & wetlands
• Benefits and Services of wetlands &
peat forests
• Why tropical forest are important?
• Concluding remarks
2
Total tropical forest area in Asia Pacific: 206.7 mil ha
PERCENTAGE
PERCENTAGE OF
OF FOREST
FOREST AREAS
AREAS
(SELECTED
(SELECTED COUNTRIES),
COUNTRIES), 2000
2000
Countries
Percentage (%)
Developing Countries
Brazil
64
Malaysia
59
Indonesia
58
Thailand
29
Philippines
19
Developed Countries
Germany
31
France
28
Canada
27
USA
25
Australia
20
UK
Japan
12
?
EXPORT
EXPORT VALUE
VALUE OF
OF FOREST
FOREST
PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
R
R
M
M
25
25
20
20
B
B
ii 15
15
ll
ll
10
10
ii
o
o
55
n
n
19.7
12.3 13.1
14.7
17.1
14.3
16.3
Source:
Source: Department
Department of
of
Statistics
Statistics Malaysia
Malaysia
2200
0055
2200
0044
Year
Year
2200
0033
2200
0011
1199
9999
1199
9977
1199
9955
1199
9933
00
21.5
USD5.85
Malaysia one of the 12 Megadiverse
Countries (highest biological diversity)
The 12 Mega-diverse
Countries of the World
•
•
•
•
•
•
Australia (7.68 m km2)
Brazil (8.55 m km2)
China (9.57 m km2)
Colombia (1.14 m km2)
Ecuador (0.27 m km2)
Democratic
Republic of Congo
(2.35 m km2)
• India (3.16 m km2)
• Indonesia (1.90 m km2)
• Madagascar (0.59 m
km2)
• Malaysia (0.33 m km2)
• Mexico (1.96 m km2)
• Peru (1.28 m km2)
National Policy & Decisions
Related to natural resources in
Malaysia
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
National Forest Policy
National Policy on Biological Diversity
National Policy on the Environment
National Policy on Wetlands
National Physical Plan (NPP)
Forest Areas in Malaysia in 2005
(Area in million ha)
Production
Forest
Protection
Forest
National/
State Park
Wildlife &
Bird
Sanctuary
Stateland
Forest
Total
Forest
Area
Nonforest
Area
Total
2.8
1.9
0.58
0.31
0.3
5.89
7.27
13.16
3
0.59
0.25
0.16
0.41
4.41
2.96
7.37
Sarawak
5.16
1
0.7
0.3
2.08
9.24
3.06
12.3
Malaysia
10.96
3.49
1.53
0.77
2.79
19.54
13.29
32.83
Region
Peninsular
Malaysia
Sabah
Forest Areas in Malaysia (2005)
11%
Protection
Production
41%
National/State Park
33%
Wildlife & Bird
Sanctuary
Stateland forest
Non-forest area
8%
2% 5%
Upper Montane
1,500 m
Montane
1,200 m
Upper Hill Dipterocarp
750 m
Hill Dipterocarp
300 m
0m
Lowland Dipterocarp
Costal Hill
Peat Swamp
Mangrove
FOREST
TYPES
Forest Types
Coastal forest
Mangrove
Peat swamp forest
Lowland forest
Montane forest
Hill Forest
Forest
Forest &
& Agricultural
Agricultural
Plantations
Plantations
Khaya ivorensis
(Khaya)
Tectona grandis
(teak)
Oil palm
Forest Management & Conservation
for sustainability: approach
• Designate
Permanent Reserved Forests (PRF)
•Continuous flow of desired good & services
•Established annual selective logging (39,000
ha/yr)
•Developed “Malaysia Criteria & Indicators” for
sustainable forest management.
Basic Concept of Sustainable Forest
Management (SFM)
Initial stocking
Volume or
Basal Area
Sustainable level
Maximum
harvestable
Optimum
growing
stock
F
F
F
Year
Cutting
cycle
Cutting
cycle
Harvesting methods
FLORA
Durio carinatus (Durian)
Calophyllum ferrugineum
(Bimtangor)
Monkey Lipstick
Koompassia malacensis
(Kempas)
Gonystylus bancanus
(Ramin)
Cissus sp.
Periuk Kera
Lesser Adjutant
Crimson-winged Woodpecker
Bushy-crested Hornbill
Rasbora sp.
Rasbora sp.
Six-banded Tiger Barb
Cyclocheilichthys apogon
Gi t C tfi h
Threats to Forest and biodiversity
• Land conversion and deforestation
• Unsustainable forest harvesting
• Continuous degradation to special ecosystems
(wetlands, mangrove areas, highlands)
• Habitat loss
Wetland types in Malaysia
• Inland wetlands
• Coastal wetland
• Man-made & lakes
Total
2,130,000 ha
600,000
270,000
3,000,000
31 out of 41 types
Peatland and peat swamp forests comprise
>70% of wetlands in Malaysia
•A special type of ecosystem that forms and survive under
unique conditions
•Presence of excess water dominates the ecosystem
•Provides vital services & functions ie “ecosystem services”
Extent of Peatland in Malaysia
Ecosystem services are benefits people
derived from forest ecosystems
Provisioning
Goods produced or
provided by
ecosystems
• food
• fresh water
• fiber
• biochemicals
• genetic resources
Regulating
Benefits obtained
from regulation of
ecosystem
processes
• climate regulation
• flood regulation
• detoxification
Cultural
Non-material
benefits obtained
from ecosystem
• recreational
• aesthetic
• educational
• communal
Supporting
Services necessary for production of other ecosystem services
• Soil formation
• Nutrient cycling
• Primary production
Human demand for ecosystem services is rapidly
growing around the world…
Food
Food production must
increase to meet the
needs of an additional 3
billion people over the
next 30 years
Water
Timber
One-third of the
world’s population is
now subject to water
scarcity.
Wood fuel is the only
source of fuel for one
third of the world’s
population.
Population facing
water scarcity will
double over the next 30
years
Wood demand will
double in next 50 years.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005):
– “over past 50 yrs, humans have changed ecosystems more
extensively than any comp. period….resulted in a
substantial loss in diversity of life…degradation of many
ecosystem services”
•Loss and degradation of
wetlands is more rapid than that
of other ecosystems
Why Tropical Forests Are so Important,
especially in global climate change?
Biome
Area
Carbon Stocks (Gt C)
(106 km2) Vegetation Soils Total
Tropical forests
17.6
212
(45%)
216
428
Temperate forests
10.4
59
100
159
Boreal forests
13.7
88
471
559
Tropical savannas & grasslands
22.5
66
264
330
Temperate grasslands & shrublands
12.5
9
295
304
Deserts & semideserts
45.5
8
191
199
Tundra
9.5
6
121
127
Wetlands
3.5
15
225
240
Croplands
16.0
3
128
131
Total
151.2
466
2011
2477
Estimated carbon balance of tropical biosphere (Gt C yr-1)
1980-1989
-0.5
-0.3
-0.8
0.0
Total Tropical Sink: -1.6 Gt C year-1
Carbon Source
+0.1
0.0
Malhi & Grace 2000
Trends in Ecology and Evolution
-0.1
-0.3
Carbon Sink
-0.5
-0.7
-0.9
-1.1
The Global Carbon Budget
Carbon Fluxes (Gt C yr-1)
Fossil Fuel
Emissions
5.5
Atmosphere
750 (+3.4 yr-1)
Photosynthesis
Regrowth
120
92
90
O.5
Excess
Photosynthesis
1.6 ?
120
Respiration
Oceans
39,800
2
Land use change
Rivers
0.6
Land Biosphere
2190
Source: IPCC 1995
Understanding the roles of tropical forest
in energy/H2O exchange process
Pasoh, N. Sembilan
Rain: 1804 mm; Temp: 25.6 C
Vegetation: Primary lowland
mixed Dipterocarp forest
35 – 45 m height
LAI 6.52
Tower: 52 m
Eddy Covariance Flux Measurements
Direct measurements of
the net transport of carbon
dioxide in and out
of the forest canopy
Ultrasonic
anemometer
Sample over an area of
several square kilometres
Continuous, automatic
measurements with high
time resolution
Infrared gas
analyser
Net ecosystem production estimated through the multi-layer model from
multi-scale observations on CO2 dynamics.
SHFobserved
LHFobserved
SHFsimulated
LHFsimulated
400
300
200
100
0
1.0
CO2 flux (mg m-2 s-1)
Results of annual NEP simulated by
the multi-layer model was +1.74
tC/ha/year, whereas the direct
estimation by our eddy-covariance
observation was +7.63 tC/ha/yr
SHF, LHF(W/m2)
500
Fc
∆storage
NEEobserved
NEEsimulated
0.5
0.0
-0.5
NEP 1.74
-1.0
0
6
12
Time of Day
18
24
How much carbon is there in our peatlands?
Worldwide: range from 540 Gt (25-30%)
Tropical peatland may store 70Gt
Under water-logged conditions,
decomposition is extremely slow, thus
resulting an accumulation of decayed plant
material (peat) – carbon sequestration
Lowering of water tabled in peatland results in
higher decomposition/oxidation and leads to
greater CO2 emission to atmosphere.
Peat swamp forest under natural condition
CO2
CH4
N2O
Relationship between groundwater level and greenhouse gas
flux in tropical peatlands, Jambi, Inodnesia
Furukawa et al., Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 71: 81-91
(2005)
CONCLUSIONS
– Tropical forests provide important ecosystem services
for human being and the environment
– Vital to protect & restore tropical forest ecosystem,
particularly critical habitats eg mangrove forest
– The role of Tropical forest in the climate change issue
is critical