International Conference on Environmental Research and Technology (ICERT 2008)

Land-use Changes in Mount Papandayan: Its Associated Impacts on Biodiversity and

Carbon Stock
E. Sulistyawati*, Y. I. Ulumuddin, M. Zuhri
School of Life Science and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Labtek XI, Jl. Ganesha
10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
*Corresponding author. Phone: +622 22511575, Fax: +622 22500258
Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Given the fact that most lowland forests in the highly populated island of Java have been converted to other uses, the
mountain forests play a critical role in providing key ecosystem services such as biodiversity maintenance and
partial stabilization of climate through carbon sequestration. This paper assesses the extent to which land-use
changes in Mount Papandayan happening during 1994 2001 has resulted in loss of forest habitats and carbon
sequestered in vegetation. The assessment was done by analyzing the data derived from biodiversity survey for
plants and birds, field-measurement of carbon stocks, remote sensing, and interview. The remote sensing method
(using Landsat) was used to quantify the extent of deforestation. In order to estimate carbon stock and its changes in
the landscape, we have developed a statistical model based on the correlation between the spectral characteristics
and field-measurement of carbon stocks. The results indicated that the mixed-forest of Mount Papandayan had high
diversity of plants and birds. Deforestation mainly due to conversion to agricultural fields has been instrumental in
causing the loss of such diverse habitat. During 1994-2001, around 2,700 hectares of forest have disappeared with
the associated loss of carbon of more than 800,000 tons. This paper will also highlight the implication of this finding
to the ecosystem management in order to conserve the remaining and restoring the forest.
Keywords: Biodiversity, carbon stock, land-use change.
1.

INTRODUCTION
Conversion of natural forests into to agriculture fields has been one major source of deforestation in Indonesia,
which leads to decreasing the ecological role of forests in providing key ecosystem services such as biodiversity
maintenance and partial stabilization of climate through carbon sequestration. Both species diversity and ecosystem
diversity are important component of life supporting system providing water, clean air, and preventing erosion as
well as floods. Forest also plays an important role in the global carbon cycle because it stores a large amount of
carbon in biomass and soil (Falkowski et al., 2000).
In highly populated island of Java, most lowland forests have been converted to other uses (Adi et al., 2004),
therefore mountain forests play a critical role in providing those key ecosystem services. Despite their critical role,
however, the mountain forests in many parts of Java are currently facing serious threats leading to forest degradation
and deforestation. Mount Papandayan in West Java is one of the mountain forest ecosystems experiencing that
problem.
This paper aimed to assess the extent to which land-use change happening in Mount Papandayan region during
1994-2001 has resulted in loss of forest habitats and carbon sequestered in vegetation. It presents the summary of
findings from three studies conducted in the region, i.e. biodiversity assessment (Sulistyawati et al., 2005), carbon
stock assessment (Ulumuddin et al., 2005), and management assessment (Zuhri, 2007).
Study Site
This study covered the forested area and a small extent of grassland in Mount Papandayan region and three
villages in the neighbouring areas. Mount Papandayan is an active volcano located in the southern part of West Java
Province, Indonesia. The last major eruption occurred in 2002. Its peak is located at 07o1942S and 107o4400E
with the elevation of 2,675 m asl. Administratively, it belongs to the Garut Regency (eastern part) and Bandung
Regency (western part). Almost all forested areas in Mount Papandayan have been designated as Nature Reserve in
which the major type of vegetation is mixed forest. In the outskirt of the Nature Reserve there is production forests
planted with pines, Altingia exelsa (rasamala) and Agathis damara (dammar) as well as tea plantation.

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International Conference on Environmental Research and Technology (ICERT 2008)

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Biodiversity Assessment
The biodiversity assessment was conducted for plants and birds. The measurement for plants was conducted in
three vegetation types, i.e. crater vegetation, mixed forest, and grassland. The sampling plots for plants were nested;
size of the outermost plot was 20 x 20 m2 (for trees with DBH >= 10 cm) enclosing four 5 x 5 m2 plots (for trees
with DBH < 10 cm, shrubs and climbers). A 1 x 1 m2 plots in each 5 x 5 m2 plots was set for measuring herbs. The
data was analyzed to calculate species richness and diversity.
Bird survey was conducted in the crater vegetation, the mixed forests and forest areas near the edge of the
Nature Reserve bordering with agricultural fields. Bird diversity assessment was conducted using a modified
transect method. In this survey, the distance along transect was ignored; instead, the counting of the bird was
recorded on 2 hours interval. The total length of observation time was ( 38 hours). This paper only presents the
qualitative result, i.e. the number of species and conservation status according Birdlife Red Data Book.
Carbon Stock Assessment
The carbon stock in this study refers to the organic carbon held in the biomass of trees, shrubs, litters as well as
in the soil. To estimate carbon stock and its changes in the landscape, we have developed a statistical model based
on the correlation between the spectral characteristics and field-measurement of carbon stocks. The remote sensing
data used to build the model is Landsat ETM year 2001 with spatial resolution of 30x30 m. Field carbon stocks was
estimated using allometric method based on measurements on twenty 30x100 m2 plots located in mixed forest, forest
plantations and grasslands. In each plot in which the coordinate has been identified, a number of spectral
characteristics from the Landsat image were extracted and then the model was constructed using stepwise multiple
regressions (see Ulumuddin et al., 2005 and Sulistyawati et al., 2006 for fuller explanation). The best equation for
estimating carbon stock at pixel level acquired was
C = 29.531 TM57 2.569 RAT_7_B1 + 104.607
(1)
C refers to carbon stock (Mg/900 m2); TM57 refers to the value of vegetation index calculated as the ratio of
band 5 to band 7, whereas RAT_7_B1 refers to the value of texture measure calculated for band 1 using 7x7 pixel
windows. The correlation coefficient for this equation is 0.802. This model was then applied for calculating the
landscape level carbon stock in the Mount Papandayan region in 1994 and 2001.
Management Assessment
Deforestation happening in this area can be taken as a sign of the failure of management in protecting the
forests. In order to reveal the causes of that problem, a management assessment has been conducted. Data were
collected through semi structure interview, direct observation, and literature study. The respondents selected using
purposive sampling method and they represented all stakeholders, i.e. neighbouring village community (69 persons),
the Nature Reserve officials (10 persons) and other stakeholders (5 persons). The data was subsequently analyzed by
qualitative descriptive analysis.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Plant Diversity
This research found 42 species of trees, 14 species of shrubs, 106 species of herbs and 23 species of climbers
(See Sulistyawati et al. (2005) for the complete list of species). The plant diversity as measured by both the species
richness and diversity varies among the sites (Table 1). For almost all life forms, the plant diversity of the mixed
forest was higher than that of the crater vegetations and grassland. Importance of Mount Papandayan for biodiversity
conservation can be judged by its high plant diversity compared with other mountain forests in Java of comparable
altitude, e.g. in Mount Pangrago and Mount Tangkubanparahu (See Sulistyawati et al. (2005).

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International Conference on Environmental Research and Technology (ICERT 2008)

Table 1
Plant diversity in three-ecosystem types in Mount Papandayan
Trees
Trees
Shrubs
Ecosystem Type (d 10 cm) (d < 10 cm)
S
H
S
H
S
H
Crater vegetation
8
1.54
6
1.2
Mixed forest
35
2.93
28
3
12 1.15
Grassland
S: species richness; H: species diversity (Shannon Diversity Index)

Herbs
S
13
53
26

H
2.13
2.32
1.97

Climbers
S
3
15
-

H
0.6
2.19
-

Bird Diversity
The number of species found during observation was 73 species from 26 families (see Sulistyawati et al. (2005)
for the complete list of species) some of them have specific conservation status (Table 2). The number of species
found in the mixed forest (41) was higher than in the crater vegetation (16 species). The high diversity of plants and
the structural complexity certainly contributes to the high bird diversity in the mixed forest. Mount Papandayan is an
Important Bird Area (IBA) as judged by the presence of two endangered species, i.e. Javan hawk-eagle (Spizaetus
bartelsi) and Blue-tailed trogon (Harpactes reinwardtii). Comparison with old record shows that 64 species reported
by Hoogerwerf (1948) was not re-found in this study. Conversion of forests into agricultural fields and poaching
were likely to play a role in the disappearance of such large number of species.
Table 2
Birds with specific conservation status found in Mount Papandayan
Status
Number of Species
Restricted range
16
Protected by regulations
15
Endangered
2
Near threatened
2
Carbon stocks
Field measurements show that in general the carbon stock in the mixed forest was far higher than in the tree
plantations and grasslands (Table 3). The average of carbon stock in the mixed forest was 270.96 Mg/ha, which is
quite high compared with that found in forest at Sumber Jaya, West Lampung, Indonesia i.e. 262.82 Mg/ha (van
Noordwijk et al., 2002).
Table 3
Carbon stocks in different vegetation types
Vegetation Type Number of Samplings
Grassland
3
Mixed forest
10
Plantation forest
7

Average of Carbon Stock (Mg/ha)

63.59
270.96
170.43

Standard Deviation
9.79
80.51
67.39

Land-use Change in Mount Papandayan Region during 1994-2001

Remote sensing analysis shows that the forested area decreased from 10,283 ha (1994) to 7,581 ha (2001),
which is equal to deforestation rate of around 2,700 hectares per year. Our analysis indicated that most forested area
have been converted into agricultural fields. The shape of the forested area has also changed. It became more
convoluted (Figure 1) as the middle part became narrower. Considering the shape change, there was a real threat that
the forested area will be fragmented, if this trend continues.
When the model for estimating carbon stock at the pixel level (equation 1) was applied, it showed that the
magnitude of carbon stock at landscape level was around 2,772,575 Mg in 1994. However, this number decreased to
around 1,944,151 Mg in 2001 due to forest conversion into agricultural fields. Therefore the carbon stock decrease
was 30% in seven years or 118,346 Mg/year.

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International Conference on Environmental Research and Technology (ICERT 2008)

Figure 1 Changes in the forested area in the Mount Papandayan region during 1994-2001
Management Problems in Mount Papandayan Nature Reserve
In general, the main activity contributing to the deforestation in Mount Papandayan was conversion of forest
into agricultural fields. Poverty and land scarcity were identified as the among key factors driving the forest
conversion. Meanwhile, the Reserve has also been subjected to several forms of forest resource exploitation
resulting in forest degradation in some parts of the Reserve, such as poaching, channelling water resource for
irrigating the fields, collecting honey, fuel woods, mushrooms, and livestock feeds. The presence of activities inside
the Reserve boundary was a clear indication of failure of the management to protect the Reserve. Inadequacy of the
number and quality of the staffs, limited equipments and lack of law enforcement to punish the actors seemed to
make the occurrence of destructive activities in the Nature Reserve hard to control.
Given the limitation on resources provided by the management, it is unlikely that protection of Reserve can
succeed without a form of community involvement. Collaborative management is one approach that can be used
as a framework for building an effective management of the Reserve by involving relevant stakeholders including
the local community. This management approach has bseen adopted in several national parks in Indonesia, e.g.
Bunaken, Komodo, and Bali Barat National Park.
The fundamental issue of poverty and land-scarcity in the local community also has to be addressed promptly.
We have identified several potential alternative economic incomes, which are less land demanding, that can be
developed further for improving the livelihood the local people. These include cultivation of honey bees and
mushroom.
4. CONCLUSION
The forested area of Mount Papandayan represents an important mountain habitat harbouring a large number of
plants and birds including those with specific conservation status. However, the extent of this habitat has been
reduced due to conversion into mainly agricultural fields amounting at 2,702 ha over the period 1994-2001. This
land-use change also resulted in decrease on landscape level carbon stock, i.e. from 2,772,575 Mg to 1,944,151 Mg
(30% reduction). Such large extent of deforestation prompts to a need for conducting reforestation and establishing a
new management approach to restore and maintain the ecological functions of Mount Papandayan forest.
5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to express a sincerely gratitude to Osaka Gas and Rufford Foundation for financing this study
and to the Natural Resource Conservation Bureau of West Java Province (BKSDA JABAR II) and PT PERHUTANI
for facilitating this study. Sincerely thanks were also conveyed to those who help us a lot in the fields and to Center
for Remote Sensing ITB for facilitating the preparation of this manuscript.

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