Potential of Agroforestry System on Peat Land to Enhance Food Security and Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

Indonesia is a country with the largest tropical peatlands in the world. utilization of peatlands has been widely associated with fires and environmental issues like carbon dioxide emissions because of the highest land-use. The reduction or loss of the peat forest ecosystem for the development of dry land plants on a massive scale has reduced the quality of the environment, so that the function and benefits of the peat ecosystem as a hydrological buffer for the surrounding area are disturbed. This paper aims to synthesize all research results qualitatively to explore the potential for developing agroforestry systems on peatlands in an effort to increase food security and protect the environment. This review paper uses the Qualitative Review Systematics method with stages: 1) formulation of questions, 2) literature search, 3) screening and selecting appropriate research articles, 4) analyzing and synthesizing qualitative findings, 5) presenting finding. Agroforestry has the potential to have a real impact on food security, climate change including mitigation and adaptation, and preserving the environment. Some research results show that the agroforestry systems can be an effective buffer in peatlands in fire control because the peat stabilization process requires control materials to maintain the elemental composition, carboxyl (COOH) and OH-phenol functional groups, so that the peat conditions become stable.

Keywords

• tropical peat
• fires
• greenhouse gas emissions
• buffering capacity
• alley cropping