Conversion of degraded forests to oil palm plantations in the Peruvian Amazonia: Shifts in soil and ecosystem-level greenhouse gas fluxes

Hergoualc'h K.; Gonzales M.L.; Málaga N.; Martius C. · Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (2025) · DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109603

Resumen

Oil palm (OP) expansion and associated forest clearance can significantly impact greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. We investigated carbon stocks and soil GHG (N2O, CO2, CH4) fluxes in a degraded forest and an adjacent 17-year-old OP plantation in Peruvian Amazonia. The plantation comprised three nitrogen (N) fertilizer treatments: 0 (OPN0), 84 (OPN1), 168 (OPN2) kg N ha−1 y−1. Carbon stocks were inventoried across all pools. GHG and environmental parameters were monitored monthly for 11 months and (bi)daily when fertilizing the OP, with measurements taken both near and far from trees/palms. Ecosystem-scale CO2equivalent losses from the conversion were computed by balancing carbon stock losses against N2O emission changes. N2O emissions (kg N ha−1 y−1) in the forest (6.7 ± 1.2) where litterfall N inputs were large (213 kg N ha−1 y−1) were 11, 5, and 3 times the emissions in OPN0 (0.6 ± 0.2), OPN1 (1.4 ± 0.2), and OPN2 (2.3 ± 0.3). In the plantation, 1 % of the N fertilizer applied was released as N2O. Across ecosystems, N inputs primarily controlled N2O emissions. Soil respiration (Mg C ha−1 y−1) was 1.4 times higher in the forest (9.1 ± 0.6) than in the plantation (7.3 ± 1, 5.5 ± 0.5, 6.5 ± 0.3 in OPN0, OPN1, OPN2). The forest was a soil CH4 (kg C ha−1 y−1) sink (-1.5 ± 0.3) while all OP treatments were sources (0.2 ± 0.3, 0.7 ± 0.5, 0.2 ± 0.4 in OPN0, OPN1, OPN2). Ecosystem carbon stock losses from forest-to-OP conversion were substantial (196.8 ± 44.0 Mg CO2 ha−1 15 y−1) and partially offset (14–20 %) by decreased N2O emissions. Complementary studies for this transition are needed to improve global GHG assessments.