A Review of Southeast Asian Oil Palm and Its CO 2 Fluxes

Royston Uning, Mohd Talib Latif, Murnira Othman, Liew Juneng, Norfazrin Mohd Hanif, Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir, Khairul Nizam Abdul Maulud, Wan Shafrina Wan Mohd Jaafar, Nor Fitrah Syazwani Said, Fatimah Ahamad and Mohd Sobri Takriff
Additional contact information
Royston Uning: Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohd Talib Latif: Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Murnira Othman: Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Liew Juneng: Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Norfazrin Mohd Hanif: Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir: Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Khairul Nizam Abdul Maulud: Earth Observation Centre, Institute of Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Wan Shafrina Wan Mohd Jaafar: Earth Observation Centre, Institute of Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Nor Fitrah Syazwani Said: Earth Observation Centre, Institute of Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Fatimah Ahamad: Centre for Tropical Climate Change System, Institute of Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohd Sobri Takriff: Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Palm oil production is a key industry in tropical regions, driven by the demand for affordable vegetable oil. Palm oil production has been increasing by 9% every year, mostly due to expanding biofuel markets. However, the oil palm industry has been associated with key environmental issues, such as deforestation, peatland exploitation and biomass burning that release carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into the atmosphere, leading to climate change. This review therefore aims to discuss the characteristics of oil palm plantations and their impacts, especially CO 2 emissions in the Southeast Asian region. The tropical climate and soil in Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, are very suitable for growing oil palm trees. However, due to the scarcity of available plantation areas deforestation occurs, especially in peat swamp areas. Total carbon losses from both biomass and peat due to the conversion of tropical virgin peat swamp forest into oil palm plantations are estimated to be around 427.2 ± 90.7 t C ha −1 and 17.1 ± 3.6 t C ha −1 year −1 , respectively. Even though measured CO 2 fluxes have shown that overall, oil palm plantation CO 2 emissions are about one to two times higher than other major crops, the ability of oil palms to absorb CO 2 (a net of 64 tons of CO 2 per hectare each year) and produce around 18 tons of oxygen per hectare per year is one of the main advantages of this crop. Since the oil palm industry plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development of Southeast Asian countries, sustainable and environmentally friendly practices would provide economic benefits while minimizing environmental impacts. A comprehensive review of all existing oil plantation procedures is needed to ensure that this high yielding crop has highly competitive environmental benefits.

Keywords: palm oil; tropical area; carbon emission; CO 2; flux (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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