Pongamia: A Possible Option for Degraded Land Restoration and Bioenergy Production in Indonesia

Forests

Deki A. Purbaya¹  Budi Leksono²  Eritrina Windyarini²  Yustina Artati³  Jino Kwon³  Yusuf B. Samsudin³  Himlal Baral³  Agus Muhamad Maulana³  Ni Luh Arpiwi⁴  Kishor Prasad Bhatta⁵  Dede J. Sudrajat⁶  Aam Aminah⁶  Markku Larjavaara⁷  Syed Ajijur Rahman⁷ 

[1] Center for Climate Change and Forest and Land Fire Control Sumatra Region Office, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Palembang 30151, Indonesia;Center for Forest Biotechnology and Tree Improvement Research and Development (BIOTIFOR), Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Yogyakarta 55582, Indonesia;Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor 16115, Indonesia;Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Udayana University, Bali 80361, Indonesia;Faculty of Forest Science and Forest Ecology, Georg-August-Universität, 37077 Göttingen, Germany;Forest Tree Seed Technology Research and Development Center, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Bogor 16129, Indonesia;Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;

关键词: Indonesia;    pongamia;    renewable energy;    land restoration;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f12111468

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Indonesia has 14 million ha of degraded and marginal land, which provides very few benefits for human wellbeing or biodiversity. This degraded land may require restoration. The leguminous tree Pongamia pinnata syn. Milettia pinnata (pongamia) has potential for producing biofuel while simultaneously restoring degraded land. However, there is limited information on this potential for consideration. This paper aims to address the scientific knowledge gap on pongamia by exploring its potential as a biofuel and for restoring degraded land in Indonesia. We applied a literature review to collect relevant information of pongamia, which we analyzed through narrative qualitative and narrative comparative methods with careful compilation and scientific interpretation of retrieved information. The review revealed that pongamia occurs naturally across Indonesia, in Sumatra, Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. It can grow to a height of 15–20 m and thrive in a range of harsh environmental conditions. Its seeds can generate up to 40% crude pongamia oil by weight. It is a nitrogen-fixing tree that can help restore degraded land and improve soil properties. Pongamia also provides wood, fodder, medicine, fertilizer and biogas. As a multipurpose species, pongamia holds great potential for combating Indonesia’s energy demand and restoring much of the degraded land. However, the potential competition for land and for raw material with other biomass uses must be carefully managed.

【 授权许可】

Unknown