Fleiss, S.

R code to reproduce analyses of aboveground carbon stocks and associated plant diversity in fragmented and continuous forest sites in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, 2017

https://doi.org/10.5285/9ff5cdca-b504-4994-8b07-5912ee6aff47 Cite this model code

The R code "carbon_stock_calculations.R" estimates aboveground carbon stocks for 49 plots in 14 fragmented forest sites and 4 continuous forest sites in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, using the vegetation dataset ‘Vegetation and habitat data for fragmented and continuous forest sites in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, 2017’. The 14 fragmented sites were all in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil-certified oil palm plantations, and are hereafter termed 'conservation set-asides'. The code also estimates the aboveground carbon stocks of oil palm plantations for comparison.

The R code "analyses_and_figures.R" runs analyses and makes figures of aboveground carbon stocks and associated plant diversity for these sites, as presented in Fleiss et al. (2020)

This R code was created in order to investigate the following: (1) to establish the value of conservation set-asides for increasing oil palm plantation aboveground carbon stocks; (2) to establish whether set-asides with high aboveground carbon stocks can have co-benefits for plant diversity; (3) to compare the carbon stocks and vegetation structure of conservation set-asides with that of continuous forest, including assessing tree regeneration potential by examining variation in seedling density; (4) to examine potential drivers of variation in aboveground carbon stocks of conservation set-asides (topography, degree of fragmentation, and soil parameters); (5) to scale-up the estimates of the aboveground carbon stocks of conservation set-asides, in order to predict average carbon stocks of oil palm plantations with and without set-asides, and for varying coverage of set-asides across the plantation.

Publication date: 2020-06-15

1 citation

Where/When

Study area
Temporal extent: 2017-07-21 to 2017-10-28

Provenance & quality

The data used in these analyses were collected in July - October 2017. The 14 fragmented sites were all in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil-certified oil palm plantations; and they varied from isolated forest fragments to sites connected to forest reserves outside the oil palm plantation. The four continuous forest sites were located in Danum Valley and Malua Forest Reserves, and include both primary and logged forest sites.

At each site, vegetation was surveyed in 2-3 circular plots spaced 100 m apart along a transect (the smallest fragmented sites had only 2 plots and all other sites had 3). In each plot, living trees and palms, saplings, seedlings, deadwood, and lianas on trees were surveyed in a nested plot design. All living trees, saplings and seedlings were identified to genus, and to species where possible. Field data were collected in collaboration with experienced local botanists. In addition, eight soil parameters were measured from topsoil samples in each plot. Metrics relating to the degree of forest fragmentation in the surrounding landscape were calculated for each plot, using drone (UAV) imagery from an oil palm company. Note that additional measurements (e.g. ground vegetation) are available in the full dataset, which were not included in these analyses (see https://doi.org/10.5285/c67b06b7-c3f6-49a3-baf2-9fc3a72cb98a ).

This model code is included in the following collections

Floristic community and aboveground carbon storage in fragmented and continuous forest, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Supplemental information

This model code is a supplement to:

Fleiss, S., Waddell, E. H., Bala Ola, B., Banin, L. F., Benedick, S., Bin Sailim, A., Chapman, D. S., Jelling, A., King, H., McClean, C. J., Yeong, K. L. & Hill, J. K. (2020). Conservation set-asides improve carbon storage and support associated plant diversity in certified sustainable oil palm plantations. Biological Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108631 This study uses these data to examine the value of conservation set-asides for carbon storage, and for associated plant diversity, in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil-certified oil palm plantations. The study uses the findings from the data to make recommendations on the management of conservation set-asides for high carbon storage in future.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108631

Correspondence/contact details

Susannah Fleiss

University of York

sfleiss1@googlemail.com

Author