Global Climate Mitigation

Research on carbon stocks as described by Yagasu’s Research and Monitoring Manager, Grace Yanti Panjaitan, is one of regular work programs of the research and monitoring division. Grace explained that carbon stock is the average value of carbon stored in plant bodies and soil which generally uses units of tonC per Ha. The stored carbon stock is determined by several factors, including trunk circumference (diameter), height, species density, soil type and tree age. “The more carbon stored in a tree, the better the air quality in the environment, and it can cope with global climate change,” she said.

This research involved Yagasu’s monitoring staffs, village officials, students, local communities, Langkat Forestry Service and international researchers. This project was carried out in 4 villages spread across Langkat Regency, North Sumatra, including: in Pulau Kampai Village as many as 55 plots out of 1,035, 76 Ha, in Pangkalan Siata Village with 36 plots out of 876, 88 Ha, and in Halaban with 12 plots and in Salahaji Village with 15 plots out of 252, 51 Ha.

(Yagasu’s research team was collecting soil sample in Mangrove forest in Pulau Kampai Village, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra)

In regard to the selected research location, Yagasu proposed that these 4 villages have preserved mangrove forests, various species of mangroves, and varying levels of density, either high, medium, or low. Therefore, this area can represent the existing mangrove forest and is suitable as an object of research.

The output of the research is to get the value of biomass and carbon stocks that obtained from the field measurement, then will be proceeded to be color gradient, graphic and table data sets that can be used to analyze the carbon stock from satellite image with machine learning non-linear method.

“We hope that through this research which is funded by the Global Mangrove Trust (GMT) and KUMI, we can provide scientific information about the spatial distribution of carbon values ​​in each mangrove forest. The data is useful as a reference for development of environmental policy to mitigate the global climate change,” she added. She also stated that the wider the mangrove forest that is maintained, the greater its ability to absorb carbon.

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About Yagasu

Yagasu (Yayasan Gajah Sumatra) is a Non-Governmental Organization with over 21 years of practical experiences on biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration and protection, climate change mitigation and adaptation, capacity building, environmental education and local economic reconstruction through the facilitation of generating income for local communities on green livelihoods. Established on July 17, 2001, the organization initial concern was Sumatra’s elephant conservation. In 2006, Yagasu changed its management structure and officially registered with Yagasu Aceh as its legal name. In recent years, yagasu has been focused on restoring mangrove restoration, environment and climate change, and local community empowerment in Aceh, North Sumatra, East Java, and Wet Java Province.