Dominance of palm oil plantation utilization on peatlands in Riau Province

Oil palm plantations have a positive impact in the form of increasing economic and social value for people in Riau Province. The area of oil palm plantations continues to increase. The limited mineral land in Riau Province has triggered the opening of oil palm plantations on peatlands. The study was conducted to obtain information on the dominance of the use of oil palm plantations in peatlands in Riau Province in this decade. The study was conducted with a descriptive approach based on analysis of changes in peatland use and increased production of oil palm plantations. The analysis was carried out spatially with the overlay technique. The analysis results were strengthened descriptively based on a literature review. The results study found that the area of oil palm plantations on peatlands in Riau Province reached 44.48%. The total production of FFE increased from 127 tons in 2010 to 193 tons in 2020. The estimated was number of people who depend on the oil palm plantation sector is 51.93%. The concluded that oil palm plantation activities have dominated the utilization of peatlands in Riau Province. The increase in oil palm plantations supports increasing production and becomes a leading commodity. The dominance of oil palm plantations has contributed to social and economic aspects as the mayor source of livelihood and increasing income.


Introduction
Palm oil is a type of commercial agricultural commodity that has been widely developed for the production of vegetable oil.Palm oil production has been used as a source of raw materials for industry, consumption, and fuel.The oil produced from the oil palm plant is also greater than other types of vegetable oil.So that the need for palm oil continues to increase [1].The increasing need for palm oil is also in line with the increasing need for derivative industries, as well as the increased development of bioenergy as an alternative fuel [2].
The increase in demand for palm oil must be followed by efforts to increase the amount of palm oil production.Efforts that have been carried out so far are increasing the area of plantations [3].So that land conversion continues to occur in various regions, including in Indonesia.Based on data from the Directorate of Plantations for 2017, it shows that the area of oil palm plantations in Indonesia has increased very rapidly over the last 30 years.Indonesia is currently one of the largest palm oil producing countries globally [1].The increasing demand for palm oil triggers the expansion of oil palm plantations in various regions in Indonesia.Land clearing for oil palm plantations also occurred in Riau Province.The opening of oil palm plantations can be grouped into 2, namely: large oil palm plantations managed by companies or the private sector, and smallholder oil palm plantations which are managed directly by the community either in the form of partnerships or independently.The use of oil palm plantations has had a positive impact in the form of increasing economic and social values for the community [4,5].However, limited mineral land also triggers the opening of oil palm plantations on peatlands.
Ecologically, land in Riau Province is dominated by peat hydrological units.Based on the results of an analysis of data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, it is known that the peat hydrological unit area of Riau Province is 4.9 million hectares.The peat hydrological area has a variety of depth levels.Peatlands in Riau Province are scattered along the coastal plains.The distribution of these peatlands reaches more than half of the land area in Riau Province.Administratively, Riau Province's peatlands are spread over 11 out of 12 regencies/cities.
Peatlands have a large hydrological function as water storage as well as a high level of damage sensitivity [6].Loss of water content due to clearing of peatlands can lead to loss of function of peat in the long term [7,8].This study was conducted to explore the domination of the use of oil palm plantations on peatlands in Riau Province in the past decade.

Method
The scope of the study was carried out in Riau Province, specifically oil palm plantation activities on peatlands.Riau Province is located on the coast of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.Based on mapping data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry from 2017 to 2020, it was found that the peat hydrological unit area in Riau Province had been mapped with several scales of accuracy.Out of 59 peat hydrological unit units in Riau Province, 20 units have been inventoried and mapped with a scale of 1:50,000, while 39 other units still have a map scale of 1:250,000.The results of the analysis as a whole found that the area of peat hydrological units in Riau Province is 4.9 million hectares.Most of the peatland has been used for oil palm plantation activities.
The study method is carried out by a combination of spatial analysis and literature study.Spatial analysis was carried out to obtain information on the dominance of changes in peatland use for oil palm plantations in Riau Province.Spatial analysis was carried out using an overlay technique based on the distribution of peatlands and plantation land cover.The peat land distribution data is processed from the peat hydrological unit map from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in 2017, while the land cover data is processed from Landsat Imagery from 1990 to 2020.Overlay of the two spatial data will produce spatial polygons, the distribution and area of land cover on land peat.Data on the dominance of other oil palm plantations are explored through a literature review.The review was carried out based on publications (open access) from statistical agencies, government agencies, research institutions and other scientific publications.
Further data analysis was carried out descriptively.The descriptive analysis aims to describe: (1) the development of the area and distribution of oil palm plantations on peatlands, (2) the productivity of oil palm plantations on peatlands; (3) the socio-economic impacts of the community from oil palm plantation activities, and (4) the challenges that will be faced due to the expansion of oil palm plantations on peatlands in riau province.

Development of oil palm plantations on peatlands in riau province
The results of the spatial analysis show that there has been an increase in oil palm plantations on peatlands in Riau Province from 1990 to 2020 (Figure 2).In 1990 the area of oil palm plantations in Riau Province was only ±393,239.81ha, in 2020 it increased to ±2,211,569.55 ha.This value is equivalent to 44.48% of the peatland area in Riau Province.Based on plantation land cover data periodically every 10 years, it shows that the largest increase in plantation area occurred in the period 2010 to 2020, namely from ±1,063,053.25 ha to ±2,211,569.55 ha.This value increased ±1,148,516.30ha or 108.04%.The other biggest increase also occurred in the period 1990 to 2000, namely ±542,108.56ha or 137.86%.Whereas in 2000 to 2010 the increase in plantation area was only ±127,704.88ha or 13.65%.The increase in plantation area can be caused by several factors.Factors that influence it include granting land use permits for plantations, increasing the price of palm oil and the community's initiation to cultivate oil palm [9].Oil palm plantation activities in Riau Province began to occur widely in the period 1990 -2000.These activities were carried out by granting land use permits for oil palm plantations.The opening was mostly carried out by several companies, both private and national.The granting of plantation permits also obliges each company to collaborate with local communities through partnership and workforce programs.During the period 2000 to 2010 the economic value of the plantation sector began to be felt by the community, this was triggered by an increase in the price of palm oil.So that during the period 2010 to 2020 plantation land clearing activities began to occur massively again, both by companies and community initiatives.Currently, the increase in plantation area is dominated by smallholder plantations.
The increase in the area of oil palm plantations on peatlands can be described spatially.Based on the analysis results show that some peatlands have turned into plantations.This change can be seen from the increase in the plantation area.Comparison of the distribution of additional plantation areas can be seen from 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020.In 1990 the distribution of plantation areas on peat land was only in a few areas in Riau Province.The addition of the distribution of plantation areas on peatland has increased in coastal peat areas and partly on inland peat in 2000, but in 2010 the distribution of plantation areas did not increase significantly.In 2020 the distribution of oil palm plantations on peatlands will again increase massively to more than half of peatlands.Utilization of peatlands for oil palm plantations occurs due to limited mineral land in Riau Province.Mineral land has been widely used for various cultivation activities.Peatland was previously non-productive land because it has unique characteristics [10,11].Peat has very high organic content and water content compared to mineral soils.So that it has low land suitability to support plantation cultivation activities.Cultivation activities on peatland will require higher production costs for land preparation and management [12].
Peatland is land with water-saturated soil, formed from sediments originating from the accumulation of weathered past tissue residues with a thickness of more than 50 cm.Peatlands have a very high organic (carbon compound) content of 6-91% in all layers [13].Not all plants can grow on peatlands, oil palm is one of them.Cultivation activities on peatland will require higher production costs for land preparation and management.
As a result of limited mineral land, efforts to clear land have begun to be carried out on peatlands.Several land preparation and management techniques have also been able to optimize the cultivation of oil palm plantations on peatlands [14].So that non-productive peatlands have turned into productive ones for oil palm plantations.In addition, oil palm as an annual plant species also has a high degree of adaptation [15].So that the development of oil palm plantation cultivation on peatlands continues to increase.

Productivity of oil palm plantations in riau province
Cultivation of oil palm plantations is carried out to obtain fruit production.The amount of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production in Riau Province in the last decade has increased quite significantly.In 2010 the total FFB production was around 127 tons/year, this figure will increase in 2020 where the total FFB production will be 193 tons/year.This increase in productivity results is in line with the increase in the area of oil palm plantations in Riau Province.The productivity of oil palm plants is influenced by several factors, namely environmental factors, genetic factors, and plant cultivation techniques.Environmental factors that affect the productivity of oil palm include abiotic and biotic factors.Abiotic factors can be in the form of rainfall, soil type, land topography and microclimate [16].Biotic factors such as weeds, pests, plant population numbers.Environmental factors affect the level of land suitability for oil palm plantation cultivation [17].Land suitability level describes the number and level of limiting factors for cultivation.The more and greater the limiting factors, the lower the level of land suitability.In general, the level of suitability of mineral land is classified as better than peat soil.However, proper management of peat can increase the level of land suitability.
Genetic factors that affect crop productivity are the type of seed used and the age of the oil palm plant.While the cultivation technique factors include fertilization, soil and water conservation, control of weeds, pests and plant diseases, as well as other maintenance activities.These factors are interconnected and influence one another.

Palm oil production (Kg/year)
On peatlands, the level of productivity of oil palm plantations tends to be lower than that of mineral lands [18].Soil physical properties such as peat maturity, presence of wood, depth and nature of the underlying substrate have influenced oil palm production [12].Peatland has a limited level of nutrient availability.Thus, the use of peat land for the development of oil palm plantations requires technology that is not only able to increase productivity, but also able to minimize the risk of environmental damage.Another limiting factor for inhibiting the productivity of oil palm plants is the moderate drainage class.Drainage is the condition of the water system in the body of the soil profile which is the resultant or the end result of the downward movement of water (percolation water) and runoff water [19].The depth of the groundwater table also affects the state of drainage because the movement of capillary water towards the soil surface also affects the wetness or dryness of the soil body.Stagnant ground water on peatlands results in a too wet profile, the pores tend to be filled with water so that oxygen/air becomes less [20].In addition, the majority of oil palm smallholders have not met the standards of sustainable oil palm plantations so that the management pattern of oil palm plantations on peatlands is not optimal.

Socio-economic impacts of oil palm plantations
The development of oil palm plantations has provided socio-economic benefits for the community and the region.The palm oil industry plays a major role as a driving force for the economy.This condition makes the palm oil industry a source of income and a provider of employment.The increase in the number of oil palm plantations has led to growth in employment in this sector.The following is data on the contribution of oil palm plantations to the economy of the people of riau province in 2019-2020.Based on the social aspect, the number of workers absorbed in the oil palm sector in 2020 is 830,038 heads of households.Assuming that one head of family supports one wife and two children, then the population of Riau Province who depend on the oil palm plantation sector is 3,320,152 people or 51.93%.This percentage has increased compared to 2019, namely 48.33%.This makes oil palm plantations the main source of livelihood for the people in Riau Province.The increase in the social value of the community is affected by an increase in the economic level of the community from the oil palm plantation sector.
Economically, oil palm plantations have played a role as a contributor to the economic value of the region.Increasing economic value can be in the form of regional income or community income.Regional revenues are obtained from sales taxes on palm oil externally through the export mechanism [21].Meanwhile, the economic impact on the community is obtained based on the absorption of labor for plantations and the oil palm plantation processing industry.Labor absorption in the oil palm plantation business can be optimized starting from the local workforce.This is because oil palm cultivation activities do not require specific qualifications compared to other industrial sectors.In addition, the community has a fairly good level of knowledge of oil palm cultivation [18].So that the transfer of information can be carried out optimally.So that the required number of workers for oil palm plantation activities can be recruited optimally.
The direct impact felt by the community from oil palm plantation activities on peatlands is a direct economic value.Where peat land is non-productive land.The economic value received by the community comes from forest products.The value of income from forest products is very low compared to after being used for oil palm plantation cultivation activities [4].Another condition that causes an increase in people's income is the use of intercropping planting techniques on oil palm plantations [22].This encourages the community's economic value to the rural level which increases rapidly.The increase in economic value is influenced by the selling value of oil palm fruit.The selling value of palm oil also follows the development of world oil prices.So indirectly the economic value is also influenced by the global trade price of palm oil [23].If the price of FFB is high, people's income will be higher.The high increase in income has increased the welfare of the community.

Conclusion
Oil palm plantations have dominated the land use sector on peatlands in Riau Province.The rate of increase in the area of oil palm plantations has increased rapidly from 1990 to 2020.The area of oil palm plantations in Riau Province in 2020 is 44.48% of the area of peatlands.In 1990 the area of oil palm plantations in Riau Province was only ± 393,239.81 ha, while in 2020 it increased to ± 2,211,569.55ha.The largest increase in the area of oil palm plantations occurred in the period 1990 to 2000, namely 137.86% and from 2010 to 2020, namely 108.04%.
The increase in plantation area was also accompanied by an increase in the amount of production in the oil palm plantation sector.Total production of FFE increased from 127 tonnes in 2010 to 193 tonnes in 2020.The large annual value of palm oil production compared to other types of commodities makes oil palm plantations the leading commodity in Riau Province.
The dominance of oil palm plantations has contributed to social and economic aspects as the main source of livelihood, increasing income and reducing the level of poverty in the community.It is estimated that the number of people who depend on the oil palm plantation sector is 51.93%.This dependence can come from direct activities as farmers or labor as well as derivatives from other plantation activities.So that the contribution of oil palm plantations is very dominant in Riau Province.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Map of study locations.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Increase the area of oil palm plantations on peatlands in riau province in 1990-2020.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Distribution of oil palm plantations on peatlands in Riau Province in 1990-2020

Table 1 .
Contribution of oil palm plantations to the community economy of Riau Province in 2019-2020.