South Sorong Karst Forest Stores 264 Tonnes of Carbon per Hectare

Image: article cover, from Andes et al. (2021), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

A research team from the Research Centre for Plant Conservation and Botanic Gardens, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), estimates that tree biomass in the karst forest of Beriat Nature Tourism Park, South Sorong, West Papua, reaches approximately 264 Mg per hectare. Published in the Journal Wasian, the study highlights the role of karst forests as important carbon stores, even though the vegetation is dominated by small trees.

According to the study, small trees with stem diameters of 10–30 cm contribute only about 30 per cent of total biomass. In contrast, large trees with diameters above 50 cm account for around 38 per cent. The matoa species (Pometia pinnata) is the largest contributor at the plot level, comprising about 39 per cent of biomass. These findings indicate that large trees and specific species play a key role in carbon storage in karst forests.

Indonesia is estimated to have 14.5 million hectares of karst areas. Despite their distinctive land conditions and relatively small vegetation, karst forests still function as significant carbon sinks and stores. The researchers also note that the selection of biomass estimation formulae must be done carefully, as different formulae can lead to differences in estimates of up to a dozen per cent. Such precision is important to reduce uncertainty in carbon calculations, for example to support REDD+ schemes and climate change mitigation efforts.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Tree Biomass Estimation in Karst Forest of West Papua, Indonesia by Andes Hamuraby Rozak Andes, Destri Destri Destri and Zaenal Mutaqien Zaenal, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Andes, A. H. R., Destri, D. D., & Zaenal, Z. M. (2021). Tree Biomass Estimation in Karst Forest of West Papua, Indonesia. Jurnal Wasian, 8(2), 75–86. https://doi.org/10.62142/n849nb87

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.