Carbon Stock and CO 2 Fluxes in Various Land Covers in Karang Gading and Langkat Timur Laut Wildlife Reserve, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Mikrajni Harahap, Mohammad Basyuni (), Nurdin Sulistiyono, Sigit D. Sasmito, Siti Latifah, Delvian, Rizka Amelia, Yuntha Bimantara, Salma Safrina Hashilah Harahap, Siti Halimah Larekeng, Elham Sumarga, Shofiyah S. Al Mustaniroh, Bejo Slamet, Virni B. Arifanti and Hayssam M. Ali
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Mikrajni Harahap: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Mohammad Basyuni: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Nurdin Sulistiyono: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Sigit D. Sasmito: Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore (NUS), 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119077, Singapore
Siti Latifah: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Delvian: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Rizka Amelia: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Yuntha Bimantara: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Salma Safrina Hashilah Harahap: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Siti Halimah Larekeng: Biotechnology and Tree Breeding Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar 90245, Indonesia
Elham Sumarga: School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
Shofiyah S. Al Mustaniroh: Center of Excellence for Mangrove, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Bejo Slamet: Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia
Virni B. Arifanti: Research Center for Ecology and Ethnobiology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Cibinong 16911, Indonesia
Hayssam M. Ali: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: Mangrove forests play an important role in coastal areas from an ecological perspective, being able to store large amounts of carbon through sequestration and inhibiting climate change processes by absorbing CO 2 in the atmosphere. In recent years, there have been changes in the land cover of converted and degraded mangrove forests which have resulted in the release of carbon and an imbalance in soil structure, which in turn cause a flux of CO 2 into the atmosphere. This research was conducted at the Karang Gading and Langkat Timur Laut Wildlife Reserve (KGLTLWR) in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The study focused on six different land covers, namely natural forests, restoration, mixed agriculture, paddy fields, oil palm plantation, and ponds. This study aimed to measure the total carbon stock of mangrove forests that have been converted to other land covers and estimate the level of CO 2 flux in the area. A total of three transects and six plots for each land cover were used in this study; for tree biomass, a non-destructive method was used by recording every DBH > 5 cm, and for soil carbon, drilling was carried out, which was divided into five depths in each plot. CO 2 flux was measured using an Eosense Eosgp CO 2 sensor with the static closed chamber method. The highest carbon stock was found at 308.09 Mg ha −1 in natural forest, while the lowest 3.22 Mg ha −1 was found in mixed agriculture. The highest soil carbon was found at 423.59 MgC ha −1 in natural forest, while the lowest 50.44 MgC ha −1 was found in mixed agriculture dry land. The highest average CO 2 flux value of 1362.24 mgCO 2 m 2 h −1 was found in mangrove restoration and the lowest in ponds was 123.03 mgCO 2 m 2 h −1 . Overall, the research results inform how much carbon stock is lost when converted to other land covers so that it can be used as a reference for policy makers to provide future management of mangrove forests and develop mitigation measurements to reduce carbon emissions.

Keywords: carbon stock; CO 2 flux; policy makers; restoration; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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