1. 2nd World Congress of Agroforestry Nairobi, 23-28 Aug. 09 Agroforestry as a way forward to mitigate climate change and loss of biodiversity in the development of tropical peatland Mohd Norowi H., Zulkifli, M., Salma I., Suhaimi M., Jamaludin, J., and Ismail A.B. Strategic Resource Research Centre MARDI norowi@mardi.gov.my

2. Holds large amount of Carbon Sequestered by vegetations Organic materials in soil Highly diverse ecosystem Source of a valuable raw commodity Provide various ecosystem services

3. In Malaysia - 2.4 million hectares 60.5 % are in Sarawak (Northern Borneo) Income for rural communities Agricultural activities

4. Peatland This practice reduces biodiversity and releases large amount of CO 2 Felling and Burning Agriculture Zero burning

5. Sessang Peatland Research Station Sustainable development of the tropical peatland Multi disciplines Multi nationals RESTOREPEAT CARBOPEAT

6. To evaluate the impact of various land clearing techniques on carbon emission and biodiversity changes Land clearing techniques Fell and burning: Maximum disturbance (MDP) Selective land clearing: Less disturbance (LDP) Non-developed (NP) CO 2 flux and biodiversity changes

7. Soil CO 2 Flux Measurement – Closed Chamber Method (Bekku et al. 1995) Portable CO 2 analyser (with built in pump) Evolution rate of CO2 per area Thermometer PVC Chamber Teflon tubing Rubber stopper CO 2 15 cm 20 cm Silica gel

8. Carbon loss CO 2 flux (mg m -2 h –1 ) Estimated annual C loss (Mega t ha -1 y -1 ) Clearing Tech.C loss MDP48.3 LDP10.2 NP 9.0

9. Biodiversity: Arthropod diversity

10. Biodiversity: Plant and Microbes Plant sp. – MDP Before1 st 2 nd 3 rd (year) 147938192 (125) Microbes – CFU Bacteria the most abundance High in LDP Converge as vegetation re-generate

11. Conclusions Carbon loss from LDP area were smaller compared to MDP Change biodiversity, especially at the beginning of development period but seemed to recover latter. LDP was less variable compare to MDP LDP (agroforestry) is a better approach to develop peatland

12. Practical issues Tree to keep Crop to grow