Ökologie, Biodiversität und nachhaltiges Management tropischer Torfwälder - EUTROP
EUTROP, ein im 4. Rahmenprogram der Europäischen Kommission gefördertes internationales Forschungsprojekt, hatte eine umfassende Bestandsaufnahme der Biodiversity sowie die Analyse grundlegender ökologischer Zusammenhänge in tropischen Torfsumpwäldern zum Ziel.
RSS war für die Satellitenbildauswertung (Landsat, NOAA AVHRR, IRS, ERS SAR) verantwortlich anhand derer das Vorkommen derTorfsumpfwälder in Zentral Kalimantan untersucht wurde sowie deren zeitliche Veränderung. Es wurden die Ursachen der Entwaldung analysiert und die CO2 Freistung durch Waldbrände abgeschätzt. Die Ergebnisse wurden in NATURE veröffentlicht.
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The rationale of EUTROP, funded in the framework of the 4th Framework Programme of the European Commission, was to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the biodiversity, ecological, environmental and socio-economic attributes of tropical peatlands based upon studies at different spatial scales. The study incorporated environmental audit and assessment, involving remote sensing and extensive ground checking. The status of the peatland resource was established and the impacts upon it determined, prior to preparing guidelines for its sustainable management.
RSS was responsible for a large-scale satellite survey for mapping peatland areas, land cover and land cover change applying sophisticated techniques of remote sensing, including the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites ERS-1/2 (EU) and JERS- 1 (Japan) that could penetrate the cloud which frequently covers this part of Kalimantan. The results of remotely sensed vegetation, peat and land use mapping were linked to extensive field surveys, ecological studies and laboratory analyses. Natural, secondary, developed and degraded peat swamp forests (PSF) were investigated. Forest sub-types and structure were documented, compared and evaluated, together with determination of peatland area, peat thickness, geochemistry, hydrology and hydrochemistry, tree biomass and nutrient dynamics in order to understand the ecological processes and natural resource functions of tropical peatland and the impact of development upon these.
Results
- Established the importance of tropical peatlands as reservoirs of biodiversity and stores of carbon.
- Highlighted the problems of converting this ecosystem to commercial forms of land use.
- Emphasised the vulnerability of this sensitive ecosystem to fire, especially following drainage and human impact.
- Proved that this ecosystem is one of the largest carbon stores in the world and showed that major proportions of this can be transferred to the atmosphere as a result of fire and land use change thereby adding to the greenhouse effect.
- Reliable data are now available with which to prepare guidelines for implementing ?wise use? strategies for environmentally sustainable management of tropical peatlands.
- Information from the project is being provided to International Conventions to support global initiatives on biodiversity, conservation and climate change.
- A large body of highly qualified and knowledgeable scientists is available in both the EU and SE Asia capable of addressing a wide range of problems associated with tropical peat and peatlands.
The EUTROP Project was followed by another Project (STRAPEAT) on tropical peat that incorporated the data available into procedures to develop strategies for the implementation of sustainable management of peatlands in Borneo. The STRAPEAT Project was succeeded by RESTORPEAT, an EU INCO-DEV Project under the 6th Framework Programme.
Projekt-Team
Das Projekt-Team besteht aus der Universität Nottingham (England, Projektleitung), Universität Helsinki (Finland), den Universitäten Palangkaraya, Gadjah Mada und Sriwijaya (Indonesien), der Universität Sains Malaysia (Malaysia), Kalteng Consultants (Deutschland).
