Abstract
In the stage of land use evolution where smallholder tree-based systems are desirable as replacement of Imperata cylindrica (and similar) grasslands, agroforestry can provide a gradual and rewarding approach to the transition. There tends to be, however, a gap between the last opportunity for food crop interplanting and canopy closure providing shade-based control of grass and weed growth. In such period, regrowth of Imperata enhances the risk of fire and failure of tree establishment. We analyzed the duration of this ‘Imperata regrowth window’, for a range of planting patterns and choice of tree species in Lampung (Indonesia) and northern Mindanao (the Philippines). Simulations of agroforestation scenarios with the WaNuLCAS model (‘water, nutrient and light capture in agroforestry systems’) focuss on the Imperata regrowth window as the period between 50 percent and 15 percent of ground-level light availability.
The simulation results first of all confirm a well-known fact: young trees of most species are not able to compete with Imperata and partial weeding around the tree stem base is absolutely necessary to get most trees started, with the possible exception of Paraserianthes falcataria. Although Acacia mangium is a fast growing tree, a more intensive weeding regime will double tree growth. The improvement of initial tree growth speeds up tree canopy closure and reduces subsequent Imperata regrowth window by two to more than five years according to the model, with periods longer than five years associated with slow initial growth rates. There is, according to the model, only limited opportunity to reduce risk exposure by modifying tree spacing.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Angelsen A (2007) Forest cover change in space and time: combining the von Tünen and forest transition theories. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4117
Bagnall-Oakeley H, Conroy C, Faiz A, Gunawan A, Gouyon A, Penot E, Liangsutthissagon S, Nguyen HD and Anwar C (1997) Imperata management strategies used in smallholder rubber-based farming systems. Agroforestry Systems 36: 83–104
Bertomeu M (2004) Smallholder timber production on sloping lands in the Philippines: a systems approach. World Agroforestry Centre - ICRAF, SEA Regional Office, Laguna, The Philippines, 257p. Available at http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Publications/searchpub.asp?publishid=1197
Chazdon RL (2003) Tropical forest recovery: legacies of human impact and natural disturbances. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 6: 51–71
Chomitz KM (2007) At loggerheads? Agricultural expansion, poverty reduction and environment in the tropical forests. World Bank Policy Research Report. World Bank, Washington, DC
Chomitz KM (2007) At loggerheads? Agricultural expansion, poverty reduction, and environment in the tropical forests. World Bank, Washington, DC
Chokkalingam U, Bhat DM and Von Gemmingen G (2001) Secondary forests associated with the rehabilitation of degraded lands in tropical Asia: a synthesis. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 13: 816–831
Chokkalingam U, Tacconi L and Ruchiat Y (2002) In: Rieley JO and Page SE (eds) Fire use, peatland transformation and local livelihoods: a case of positive reinforcement. Peatlands for people: natural resources functions and sustainable management. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Tropical Peatlands, held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 22nd and 23rd August 2001, pp191–196
Chokkalingam U, Suyanto, Pandu Permana R, Kurniawan I, Mannes J, Darmawan A, Khususyiah N and Hendro Susanto R (2007) Community fire use, resource change and livelihood impacts: the downward spiral in the wetlands of southern Sumatra. DOI10.1007/s11027–006-9038–5. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 12: 75–100
Christopher HD and Ervin GN (2006) Characterization and quantitative assessment of interspecific and intraspecific penetration of below-ground vegetation by cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.) rhizomes. Weed Biology and Management 6: 120–123
Collins AR, Jose S, Daneshgar P and Ramsey CL (2007) Elton’s hypothesis revisited: an experimental test using cogongrass. Biological Invasions 9: 433–443
Contreras-Hermosilla A and Fay C (2005) Strengthening forest management in Indonesia through land tenure reform: issues and framework for action. Forest Trends, Washington, DC/World Agroforestry Center, Bogor, Indonesia
de Foresta H and Michon G (1997) The agroforest alternative to Imperata grasslands: when smallholder agriculture and forestry reach sustainability. Agroforestry Systems 36: 105–120
Dove MR (2004) Anthropogenic grasslands in Southeast Asia: sociology of knowledge and implications for agroforestry. Agroforestry Systems 61: 423–435
Garrity DP, Soekardi M, Van Noordwijk M, De La Cruz R, Pathak PS, Gunasena HPM, Van so N, Huijun G and Majid NM (1997) The Imperata grasslands of tropical Asia: area, distribution and typology. Agroforestry Systems 36: 3–29
Geist H, Lambin E, Palm C and Tomich TP (2006) Agricultural transitions at dryland and tropical forest margins: actors, scales and trade-offs. In: Brouwer F and McCarl BA (eds) Agriculture and climate beyond 2015. Environment & Policy, Vol 46. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp53–73
Hairiah K, Van Noordwijk M and Setijono S (1993) Tolerance to acid soil conditions of the velvet beans Mucuna pruriens var. utilis and M. deeringiana. II. Aboveground growth and control of Imperata cylindrica. Plant Soil 152: 187–199
Hairiah K, Van Noordwijk M and Purnomosidhi P (2000) Reclamation of Imperata grassland using agroforestry. Lecture note No 5. ICRAF, Bogor, Indonesia
Lamb D, Erskine PD and Parrotta JA (2005) Restoration of degraded tropical forest landscapes. Science 310: 1628–1632
Lavorel S, Flannigan MD, Lambin EF and Scholes MC (2007) Vulnerability of land systems to fire: interactions among humans, climate, the atmosphere, and ecosystems. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 12: 33–53
MacDicken KG, Hairiah K, Otsamo A, Duguma B and Majid NM (1997) Shade-based control of Imperata cylindrica: tree fallows and cover crops. Agroforestry Systems 36: 131–149
MacDonald G (2004) Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) - biology, ecology, and management. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 23: 367–380
Mather AS (1992) The forest transition. Area 24: 367–379
Mather AS (2002) In: Bicik I et al. (eds) The reversal of land-use trends: the beginning of the reforestation of Europe, land use/land cover changes in the period of globalization. Charles University, Prague, pp23–30
Mather AS (2007) Recent Asian forest transitions in relation to forest transition theory. International Forestry Review 9: 491–502
Menz K and Grist P (1997) Economic opportunities for smallholders to combine pulpwood trees and food crops. Agroforestry Systems 36: 221–232
Menz K, Magcale-Macandog D and Wayan Rusastra I (eds) (1999) ACIAR MONOGRAPH 52, Improving smallholder farming systems in Imperata areas of Southeast Asia. Australian Center for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. Available at http://dspace.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/40999/1/aciar52.pdf
Mulyoutami E, Ilahang, Wulandari D, Joshi L, Wibawa G and Penot E (2005) From degraded Imperata grassland to productive rubber agroforests in West Kalimantan. Paper presented at International Workshop on Smallholder Agroforestry Options in Degraded Soils, ICRAF, Bogor, Batu, Indonesia, 18–20 August 2005
Murdiyarso DM, Widodo M and Suyamto D (2002) Fire risks in forest carbon projects in Indonesia. Science in China 45: 65–74
Murniati (2002) From Imperata cylindrica Grasslands to Productive Agroforestry. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Otsamo A, Ådjers G, Hadi TS, Kuusipalo J and Vuokko R (1997) Evaluation of reforestation potential of 83 tree species planted on Imperata cylindrica dominated grassland – a case study from South Kalimantan, Indonesia. New Forests 14: 127–143
Otsamo R (2000) Secondary forest regeneration under fast-growing forest plantations on degraded Imperata cylindrica grasslands. New Forests 19: 69–93
Otsamo A (2002) Early effects of four fast-growing tree species and their planting density on ground vegetation in Imperata grasslands. New Forests 23: 1–17
Purnomosidhi P, Hairiah K, Subekti Rahayu S and Van Noordwijk M (2005) Smallholder options for reclaiming and using Imperata cylindrical L. (alang-alang) grasslands in Indonesia. In: Palm CA, Vosti SA, Sanchez PA, Ericksen PJ and Juo ASR (eds) Slash and burn: the search for alternatives. Columbia University Press, New York, pp248–262
Roshetko JM, Mulawarman and Purnomosidhi P (2004) Gmelina arborea–a viable species for smallholder tree farming in Indonesia? New Forests 28: 207–215
Roshetko JM, Lasco RD and Delos Angeles MS (2007) Smallholder agroforestry systems for carbon storage. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 12: 219–242
Rudel TK, Coomes O, Moran E, Angelsen A, Achard F, Lambin E and Xu J (2005) Forest transitions: towards an understanding of global land use change. Global Environmental Change 14(4): 23–31
Rudel TK (2007) Changing agents of deforestation: from state-initiated to enterprise driven processes, 1970–2000. Land Use Policy 24: 35–41
Snelder DJ (2001) Soil properties of Imperata grasslands and prospects for tree-based farming systems in Northeast Luzon, The Philippines. Agroforestry Systems 52: 27–40
Suyanto (2007) Underlying cause of fire: different form of land tenure conflicts in Sumatra. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 12: 67–74
Terry PJ, Adjers G, Akobundu IO, Anoka AU, Drilling ME, Tjitrosemito S and Utomo M (1997) Herbicides and mechanical control of Imperata cylindrica as a first step in grassland rehabilitation. Agroforestry Systems 36: 151–179
Tomich TP, Kuusipalo J, Menz K and Byron N (1997) Imperata economics and policy. Agroforestry Systems 36: 233–261
Tomich TP, Van Noordwijk M, Budidarsono S, Gillison A, Kusumanto T, Murdiyarso D, Stolle F and Fagi AM (2001) In: Lee DR and Barrett CB (eds) Tradeoffs or synergies? CAB International Agricultural intensification, deforestation and the environment: assessing tradeoffs in Sumatra, Indonesia, pp221–244
Van Noordwijk M, Hairiah K, Partoharjono S, Labios RV and Garrity DP (1997) Food-crop based production systems as sustainable alternatives for Imperata grasslands? Agroforestry Systems 36: 55–82
Van Noordwijk M, Verbist B, Vincent G and Tomich TP (2001) Simulation models that help to understand local action and its consequences for global concerns in a forest margin landscape. ASB Lecture Note 11A, ICRAF, Bogor, Indonesia
Van Noordwijk M, Lusiana B and Khasanah N (2004a) WaNuLCAS 3.1.: Backgrounds of a model of water, nutrient and light capture in agroforestry systems. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), ICRAF-S.E. Asia, Bogor, Indonesia
Van Noordwijk M, Cadisch G and Ong CK (eds) (2004b) Belowground interactions in tropical agroecosystems. CABI, Wallingford, pp580
Wibowo A, Suharti M, Sagala APS, Hibani H and Van Noordwijk M (1997) Fire management on Imperata grasslands as part of agroforestry development in Indonesia. Agroforestry Systems 36: 203–217
Wise R and Cacho O (2004) A bioeconomic analysis of carbon sequestration in farm forestry: a simulation study of Gliricidia sepium. Agroforestry Systems 64: 237–250
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science + Business Media B.V
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Van Noordwijk, M. et al. (2008). Agroforestation of Grasslands in Southeast Asia: WaNuLCAS Model Scenarios for Shade-Based Imperata Control During Tree Establishment. In: Snelder, D.J., Lasco, R.D. (eds) Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services. Advances in Agroforestry, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8261-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8261-0_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-8260-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-8261-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)