Exploring the opportunities to link mitigation and adaptation to climate change

TROPICAL FORESTS, WATER AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION:

Daniel Murdiyarso
Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor 16680, Indonesia

Anders Malmer and Ulrik Ilstedt

Department of Forest Ecology and Management, SLU, 901 83 Ume, Sweden

International Conference on Adaptation of Forests and Forest Management to Changing Climate with Emphasis to Forest Health Ume, 25-28 August 2008

Contents
Rationales Co-benefits and the price to pay Can trees improve infiltrability and streamflow? Managing risks and trade-offs Conclusions
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Why mitigation-adaptation measures should be linked?

Mitigation

of climate change (reducing the sources or enhancing the sinks of GHGs) is better known and may be used as an entry point Mitigation measures would increase the adaptive capacity of forest ecosystems and forestdependant community Adaptation to CC is a dynamic development process, that requires continuous improvement the vulnerability should be diminished over time
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Opportunity for synergies

Source: Murdiyarso et al., 2005

Our approach

A/R CDM: mandatory mitigation measures

UNFCCC

The Kyoto Protocol

Article 12 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

Decision 17/CP.7 Modalities and procedures for CDM

Decision 19/CP.9 Modalities and procedures for A/R projects under CDM

Decision 14/CP.10 Simplified procedures for small-scale A/R projects under CDM

A/R. by UNFCCCs definitions

Afforestation is the direct, humaninduced conversion of land that has not been forested for a period of at least 50 years to forested land through planting, seeding, and/or the human-induced promotion of natural seed sources. Reforestation is the direct, humaninduced conversion of unforested land to forested land through planting, seeding, and/or the humaninduced promotion of natural seed sources on land that had been forested but was converted to unforested land. For the first commitment period, reforestation activities are limited to lands that did not contain forest on 31 Dec.1989.
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50 years

1990

Biomass gains over cropping cycles

Co-benefits and the price to pay

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Source: Murdiyarso et al., 2005

Potential adaptation measures in forestry sector

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Source: Murdiyarso et al., 2005

Following A/R trees improve infiltrability

Vegetation Before Grass Crops Crops Crops Crops Crops Crops Crops Crops Crops Crops Crops Crops Crops After Tectona grandis T. grandis Cassia spectabilis + crops C. spectabilis + crops Sesbania sesban Gliricidia sepium Leucaena leucocephala Acacia angustissima Acacia + Sesbania Gliricidia + Sesbania G. sepium + crops Alchornea cordifolia + crops L. leucocephala + crops Acioa barterii + crops 12 12 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 8 8 8 Age (yrs) Infiltration rate (mm/h) Before 26 29 3 3.3 13 13 13 13 13 13 47 47 47 47 After 57 57 5.5 5.5 95 44 37 55 71 119 152 118 95 172 Sri Lanka (7 N) Sri Lanka (7 N) Cameroon (3 N) Cameroon (3 N) Zambia (14 S) Zambia (15 S) Zambia (16 S) Zambia (17 S) Zambia (18 S) Zambia (19 S) Nigeria (7 N) Nigeria (8 N) Nigeria (9 N) Nigeria (10 N) Country (Latitude) Annual rainfall (mm) 2500 2500 1522 1522 850 850 850 850 850 850 1250 1250 1250 1250
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Source: Various, summarized in Ilstedt et al., 2007

Infiltrability under vs. between trees

Faidherbia parkland
Infiltration rate (mm/h)
120 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 120 240 360 480 600 720 Time (min)

under between

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Intensive land-use in the humid tropics

Infiltration rates of different land-uses (mm/h)
Natural Forest 489 1564 2059 608 588 826 3165 273 1015 1254 249 Plantation forest 1300 717 700 2531 1727 1910 791 415 Shrub 457 1130 230 1241 274 618 895 290 77 Cropland 277 920 594 2203 75 651 96 2167 474

1190 + 1030

1261 + 737

579 + 420

829 + 815

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Source: Larsson et al., 2005

The role of litter: The quality is essential

a. Open land to Sesbania sesban b. Open land to Leucaena leucocephala c. Grassland to Tectona grandis d. Rehabiltation on tractor tracks under rainforest

Source: Ilstedt et al., 2007

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The role of roots

Land-use

determines infiltration capacity Both length and mass of fine roots are important factors Dead coarse roots create macro-pores and potentially provide below-ground water conduits
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Source: Larsson et al., 2005

Streamflow: Land-use trajectory is crucial

Annual streamflow change (mm)

a. Rainforest to Acacia mangium tropical (Malmer et al., 2005) b. Shrubland to Pinus/Eucalypt temperate (Farley et al., 2005) c. Old growth Eucalypt to Eucalypt temperate (Watson et al., 1999)
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Managing risks and trade-offs

Source: Murdiyarso et al., 2005

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REDD: an emerging mitigation measure

Deforestation rate

Crediting period Ref. period With REDD Reduced emissions Without REDD

Emission rate

BAU

Reference Level
REDD past future
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Conclusions
The

A/R definitions may exclude a lot of lands in need for rehabilitation value of REDD could potentially reduce opportunity for land rehabilitation services are important for the poor in the tropics and affected by both climate change and potentially by mitigation efforts too hydrological models used in adaption to CC may be flawed in the tropics (we do not know enough the consequences of mitigation measures)
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High

Water

Current