Temporal Variations in Soil Water Profiles During Discharged Periods Under Oil Palm and Rubber Plantations in Bengkulu, Indonesia

DOI

10.2991/absr.k.210609.043How to use a DOI?

Keywords

deforestation, oil palm, rubber, soil water profile

Abstract

The conversion of forestland to cultivation land such as oil palm plantation has been reported to cause a shortage of water resources in Indonesia. However, it was not clearly understood whether the decrease in water resources was related to a specific crop type like oil palm following deforestation or to the disappearance of forest covers regardless of successive crop types. The present study aimed to analyse the temporal variations in soil water profiles under two crop plantations and to compare soil wetness between two crops. Two soil profiles were described at the adjacent mature oil palm and rubber plantations, fifteen cable sensors were inserted into the depths of 5-cm intervals up to the depth of 75 cm for the weekly determinations of the in-situ soil water. Undisturbed soil samples were then taken from corresponding layers at each plantation site for the soil bulk density and water retention analyses. Measurements of in-situ soil water and sampling for the water retention analyses were repeated at two other adjacent plantations of oil palm and rubber. Results showed that gravimetric and volumetric values of soil water content were consistently higher under oil palm compared to under rubber sites during the May-to-August measurements. The findings suggested that any deterioration of soil water resources after deforestation in the study area could be caused by the shift of land cover from forest to cultivated land rather than to a specific type of successive vegetation like oil palm.

Copyright

© 2021, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - B. Hermawan
AU  - Hasanudin
AU  - I. Agustian
AU  - B. G. Murcitro
AU  - M. F. Barchia
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/06/11
TI  - Temporal Variations in Soil Water Profiles During Discharged Periods Under Oil Palm and Rubber Plantations in Bengkulu, Indonesia
BT  - Proceedings of the International Seminar on Promoting Local Resources for Sustainable Agriculture and Development (ISPLRSAD 2020)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 274
EP  - 278
SN  - 2468-5747
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/absr.k.210609.043
DO  - 10.2991/absr.k.210609.043
ID  - Hermawan2021
ER  -