Carbon sequestration by oil palm plantations

We would like to draw your attention to what we feel is a major
shortcoming with the data used for the estimation of carbon
sequestration by oil palm in Southeast Asia. We believe this is a
serious issue and that it should be taken into consideration in the ILUC
estimations for oil palm. 

In the estimation of C stock change, EPA uses the Winrock database
(Annex 1) The value used by Winrock for carbon stocks of oil palm is
taken from Excel sheet on Emissions Factors data and is 68.0 tonne for
Perennial C stock (MT C ha-1). The reference for this value is given in
the Methods worksheet as: Carbon stocks for oil palm (Malaysia,
Indonesia) were estimated using the value from Table 5.3, 2006 IPCC GL
AFOLU (68 t C/ha) (   HYPERLINK
"http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp//public/2006gl/vol4.html" 
http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp//public/2006gl/vol4.html  ) Table 5.3
can be found from the chapter on Cropland. Table 5.3 is the Default
above-ground biomass for various types of perennial croplands and can be
found on page 5.9. The value for oil palm in SE Asia is 136.0 t / ha of
above ground biomass. Assuming 50% of this biomass is carbon, the value
of 68 tC/ha is derived. This value is used by Winrock. In Table 5.3
there is no reference to how this value was obtained.  This means that
it is not possible to review the methodology of the actual measurements
or the data sampling size etc. 

In order to better understand how much carbon oil palm plantations
sequester over their lifetime we have found the following references (a
review is given below) : 

1. Syahrinudin (2005):The potential of oil palm and forest plantations
for carbon sequestration on degraded land in Indonesia. - Ecology and
Development Series No. 28

2. Wicke, B., Dornburg, V., Junginger, M., and Faaij, A. (2008):
Different palm oil production systems for energy purposes and their
greenhouse gas implications. – Biomass and Bioenergy 32. 1322–1337

3. Mathews J., Tan T. H., and Chong K. M. (2010): Indication of Soil
Carbon Augmentation In Oil Palm Cultivated Inland Mineral Soils of
Peninsular Malaysia. – The Planter, Kuala Lumpur, 86 (1010): 293-313

4. Murdiyarso, D., van Noordwijk, M., Wasrin, U. R., Tomich, T. P. and
Gillison, A. N. (2002): Environmental benefits and sustainable land use
options in the Jambi transect, Sumatra. Journal of Vegetation Science
13:429–438 (not found from literature sources but is referenced by
many others) 

All of these studies point to the fact that there is significant below
ground carbon in the form of pant root biomass and soil organic carbon
(SOC) which is the microbial biomass and easily-decomposed plant
residues  A summary of the findings is given in Table 1. Please note
that although there are differences in methodologies, all studies show
significant amounts of soil organic carbon and below ground biomass. We
believe that there is now enough data available in order to make a Tier
2 estimation for oil palm plantations by IPCC. 

Table 1. Estimated and measured carbon storages on oil palm plantations.
Please refer to the attached articles.

Carbon content t C/ha	Above ground biomass calculated as  t C/ha	Below
ground biomass

calculated as t C/ha	soil organic carbon (SOC) 

t C/ha	Soil depth measured	Total Max	Total average

Winrock/IPCC	68

NA	NA	68	68

Murdiyarso et al 2002



	91	91

Wicke et al. 2008	55

40	estimation 	95*	95*

Mathews et al. 2010	40.9 	13.5	55-81	45 cm	135	126

Syahrinudin * 2005	40.9 (16.6-84.5)	13.5	183	5 m	296	238



Recommendation

We recommend that EPA take into consideration these articles in the
estimation of ILUC in order to obtain a more representative picture for
oil palm carbon sequestration. We would additionally like to offer the
possibility of a brief  teleconference regarding this issue  

Short Review of Key Articles 

Syahrinudin (2005):The potential of oil palm and forest plantations for
carbon sequestration on degraded land in Indonesia. - Ecology and
Development Series No. 28

Biomass in oil palm standing stock, other vegetation, litter on above
ground and soil organic matter has been extensively measured and found
to be 53,9 t C/ha for biomass and a total carbon content of 183 t C/ha
over the plantation cycle of 30 years. The article can be appraised as
being highly reliable due to the advanced methodology. Measured data
demonstrates that palm oil cultivation sequestrate carbon especially in
soil. The largest average value of SOC over plantation cycle of 30 years
257,7 t C/ha.  However the author recommends the lower estimation of 183
t/ha due to extremely high value measured under 10 year old plantation.
The results may be criticized due to the lack of sample size but they
are consistent  with larger data of soil fertility study concerning soil
depth of 45 cm (Mathews et al. 2010).

Mathews J., Tan T. H., and Chong K. M. (2010): Indication of Soil Carbon
Augmentation In Oil Palm Cultivated Inland Mineral Soils of Peninsular
Malaysia. – The Planter, Kuala Lumpur, 86 (1010): 293-313

A larger data set of soil fertility study concerning a soil depth of 45
cm is analyzed within the article in which oil palm plantation is shown
to sequestrate carbon over repeated plantation cycles from 55 to 80 t
C/ha respectively. Other studies and impact of more sustainable
cultivation methods are discussed. The soil organic carbon value
measured by Mathews et al. is less than half of average SOC measured by
Syahrinudin and only depth of 45 cm is studied, therefore the value of
80,8 t SOC/ha can be considered as most reliable result defensible and
comparable to other studies.

Neste Oil Corporation	Business ID	1852302-9



Domicile	Espoo





	www.nesteoil.com





Neste Oil Corporation	Business ID	1852302-9



Domicile	Espoo





	www.nesteoil.com





