Biodiversity enrichment in oil palm plantations: plant succession and integration (B11)

• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
• Term: from 2012 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 192626868

The transformation of rainforests into oil palm plantations leads to dramatic losses in biodiversity and in ecological functioning. In order to test possibilities for alleviation, we established a biodiversity enrichment experiment by planting tree islands in an oil palm landscape, systematically varying plot size and species number. We study (1) tree dynamics and yield, and (2) plant successional trajectories. By integrating interdisciplinary and modelling studies, (3) we evaluate scenarios for upscaling and (4) synthesize the observed ecological and economic changes.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 990: Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems (Sumatra, Indonesia)
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Ulrich Brose, until 12/2015; Professor Dr. Yann Clough, until 12/2015; Professor Dr. Dirk Hölscher; Professor Dr. Holger Kreft; Professorin Dr. Meike Wollni