Fitri Khusyu Aini

Bio: Fitri Khusyu Aini is an academic researcher from Center for International Forestry Research. The author has contributed to research in topics: Land use & Climate change. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 5 publications receiving 50 citations. Previous affiliations of Fitri Khusyu Aini include University of Aberdeen.

Opportunities and challenges for an Indonesian forest monitoring network

Abstract: Permanent sampling plots (PSPs) are a powerful and reliable methodology to help our understanding of the diversity and dynamics of tropical forests. Based on the current inventory of PSPs in Indonesia, there is high potential to establish a long-term collaborative forest monitoring network. Whilst there are challenges to initiating such a network, there are also innumerable benefits to help us understand and better conserve these exceptionally diverse ecosystems.

Projecting soil C under future climate and land-use scenarios (modeling)

Abstract: Soil carbon sequestration can be estimated from field to global scale using numerical soil/ecosystem models. In this chapter, we describe the structure and development of models that have been widely used at international level, from simple models that include carbon only to models that include descriptions of the dynamics of a range of nutrients. We also present examples of the application from field to global scale of different models to answer a range of different questions on the impact of land use and climate changes on soil carbon sequestration.A full discussion of the impact of soil carbon modeling on political and socioeconomical aspects is included to emphasize the need of a close interaction between model developers, researchers, land owners/users and policy makers to ensure the development of robust approaches to climate change, food security and soil protection.Whatever type of models are used to meet future challenges, it is important that they continue to be tested using appropriate data, and that they are used in regions and for land uses where they have been developed and validated.

How does replacing natural forests with rubber and oil palm plantations affect soil respiration and methane fluxes

Abstract: Replacement of forest by agricultural systems is a major factor accelerating the emissions of greenhouse gases; however, related field studies in the tropics are very scarce. To evaluate the impact of forest transition to plantations on soil methane (CH4) and respiration (CO2) fluxes, we conducted measurements in an undisturbed forest, a disturbed forest, young and old rubber plantations, and an oil palm plantation on mineral soil in Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia. Methane fluxes and their controlling variables were monitored monthly over fourteen months; soil respiration was measured less frequently. All of the plantations were managed by smallholders and had never been fertilized. To assess the effect of common management practices in oil palm plantations, we added urea at a rate of 33.3 kg N/ha and thereafter monitored intensively soil CH4 fluxes. The soil acted as a sink for CH4 (kg CH4‐C·ha−1·yr−1) in the undisturbed forest (−1.4 ± 1.0) and young rubber plantation (−1.7 ± 0.7). This was not the case in the other land‐use systems which had fluxes similar to fluxes in the undisturbed forest, with 0.4 ± 0.9, −0.2 ± 0.3, and 0.2 ± 0.7 kg·ha−1·yr−1 in the disturbed forest, old rubber plantation, and oil palm plantation, respectively. In the oil palm plantation, there was no inhibitory effect of nitrogenous fertilizer on methanotrophy. Annual soil respiration (Mg CO2‐C·ha−1·yr−1) was higher in the oil palm plantation (17.1 ± 1.9) than in the undisturbed forest (13.9 ± 1.2) while other land‐use systems respired at a similar level to the undisturbed forest (13.1 ± 1.4, 15.9 ± 1.7, and 14.1 ± 1.0 in the disturbed forest, young, and old rubber plantations, respectively). Substrate (litterfall and soil) availability and quality exerted a strong control over annual fluxes of both gases along the land‐use gradient. Temporal variation in CH4 was extremely high and in respiration fluxes was moderate, but was not specifically linked to seasonal variation. Further comprehensive and long‐term research is critically needed to determine more thoroughly the direction and magnitude of changes in soil trace gas emissions as affected by forest‐to‐plantation conversion in the tropics.

Diversity and density of termites in a range of land use types in the rigis hill area, sumberjaya – lampung

Abstract: Inventory of termites has been conducted during the rainy season of 2004 in a range of land use types in the Rigis Hill Area—Sumberjaya, Lampung. Termites were collected using 20 m x 2 m semi quantitative transects from 35 sample points distributed in seven land use types of increasing intensity, i.e. undisturbed forest, disturbed forest, shrub, polyculture coffee, monoculture coffee, food crop, and vegetable crop. Results showed that, first, overall we found 37 species of termites from 15 genera, 4 subfamilies, 2 families and with 2 functional groups (soil feeders and wood feeders). Second, termite diversity and density decreases along increasing gradient of land use intensification. Third, the collapsing effect of land use intensity was more apparent on soil feeding termites than on the wood feeding termites. Keywords: termite, diversity, feeding groups, land use

What Drives Academic Data Sharing

Abstract: Despite widespread support from policy makers, funding agencies, and scientific journals, academic researchers rarely make their research data available to others. At the same time, data sharing in research is attributed a vast potential for scientific progress. It allows the reproducibility of study results and the reuse of old data for new research questions. Based on a systematic review of 98 scholarly papers and an empirical survey among 603 secondary data users, we develop a conceptual framework that explains the process of data sharing from the primary researcher’s point of view. We show that this process can be divided into six descriptive categories: Data donor, research organization, research community, norms, data infrastructure, and data recipients. Drawing from our findings, we discuss theoretical implications regarding knowledge creation and dissemination as well as research policy measures to foster academic collaboration. We conclude that research data cannot be regarded a knowledge commons, but research policies that better incentivize data sharing are needed to improve the quality of research results and foster scientific progress.

Impacts of climate and land use on N2O and CH4 fluxes from tropical ecosystems in the Mt. Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania

Abstract: In this study, we quantify the impacts of climate and land use on soil N2O and CH4 fluxes from tropical forest, agroforest, arable and savanna ecosystems in Africa. To do so, we measured GHG fluxes from twelve different ecosystems along climate and land-use gradients at Mt. Kilimanjaro, combining long-term in situ chamber and laboratory soil-core incubation techniques. Both methods showed similar patterns of GHG exchange. Although there were distinct differences from ecosystem to ecosystem, soils generally functioned as net sources and sinks for N2O and CH4, respectively. N2O emissions correlated positively with soil moisture and total soil nitrogen content. CH4 uptake rates correlated negatively with soil moisture and clay content and positively with SOC. Due to moderate soil moisture contents and the dominance of nitrification in soil N turnover, N2O emissions of tropical montane forests were generally low (< 1.2 kg N ha−1 yr−1), and it is likely that ecosystem N losses are driven instead by nitrate leaching (~10 kg N ha−1 yr−1). Forest soils with well-aerated litter layers were a significant sink for atmospheric CH4 (up to 4 kg C ha−1 yr−1) regardless of low mean annual temperatures at higher elevations. Land-use intensification significantly increased the soil N2O source strength and significantly decreased the soil CH4 sink. Compared to decreases in aboveground and belowground carbon stocks enhanced soil non-CO2 GHG emissions following land-use conversion from tropical forests to homegardens and coffee plantations were only a small factor in the total GHG budget. However, due to lower ecosystem carbon stock changes, enhanced N2O emissions significantly contributed to total GHG emissions following conversion of savanna into grassland and particularly maize. Overall, we found that the protection and sustainable management of aboveground and belowground carbon and nitrogen stocks of agroforestry and arable systems is most crucial for mitigating GHG emissions from land-use change. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Total and heterotrophic soil respiration in a swamp forest and oil palm plantations on peat in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract: Heterotrophic respiration is a major component of the soil C balance however we critically lack understanding of its variation upon conversion of peat swamp forests in tropical areas. Our research focused on a primary peat swamp forest and two oil palm plantations aged 1 (OP2012) and 6 years (OP2007). Total and heterotrophic soil respiration were monitored over 13 months in paired control and trenched plots. Spatial variability was taken into account by differentiating hummocks from hollows in the forest; close to palm from far from palm positions in the plantations. Annual total soil respiration was the highest in the oldest plantation (13.8 ± 0.3 Mg C ha−1 year−1) followed by the forest and youngest plantation (12.9 ± 0.3 and 11.7 ± 0.4 Mg C ha−1 year−1, respectively). In contrast, the contribution of heterotrophic to total respiration and annual heterotrophic respiration were lower in the forest (55.1 ± 2.8%; 7.1 ± 0.4 Mg C ha−1 year−1) than in the plantations (82.5 ± 5.8 and 61.0 ± 2.3%; 9.6 ± 0.8 and 8.4 ± 0.3 Mg C ha−1 year−1 in the OP2012 and OP2007, respectively). The use of total soil respiration rates measured far from palms as an indicator of heterotrophic respiration, as proposed in the literature, overestimates peat and litter mineralization by around 21%. Preliminary budget estimates suggest that over the monitoring period, the peat was a net C source in all land uses; C loss in the plantations was more than twice the loss observed in the forest.

The Tropical managed Forests Observatory: a research network addressing the future of tropical logged forests

Abstract: While attention to logging in the tropics has been increasing, studies on the long-term effects of silviculture on forest dynamics and ecology remain scare and spatially limited Indeed, most of our knowledge on tropical forests arise from studies carried out in undisturbed tropical forests This bias is problematic given that logged and disturbed tropical forests are covering now a larger area than the so-called primary forests The Tropical managed Forests Observatory (TmFO), a new network of permanent sample plots in logged forests, aims to fill this gap by providing unprecedented opportunities to examine long-term data on the resilience of logged tropical forests at regional and global scales TmFO currently includes 24 experimental sites distributed across three tropical regions, with a total of 536 pem1anent plots and about 1200 ha of forest inventories In this paper we will present the main results generated by the network on the impact of logging on Carbon and timber recovery, as well as biodiversity changes in the Amazon basin and South East Asia