Contribution of dead wood to biomass and carbon stocks and it´s biochemical contents in lowland rainforest transformation systems on Sumatra, Indonesia

Track changes of carbon stocks due to deforestation are occured for land-use and land-cover change. Study of deadwood which is one source of carbon stocks will support its comparison in forest sector and in plantation sector. Besides it, the chemical compounds of deadwood is analyzed to relate the contents with the decay classes to determine the decomposition rate. Existence of deadwood is determined by the microclimate of each ecosystem and decomposition rate. When deadwood decompose, it contributes to the carbon and nutrient fluxes. The result of this study can to be the forest inventory data for government and society in managing forest and contribute to the general assessment of ecological functions.

We focus on tropical lowland rainforests and jungle rubber investigated in National Park Bukit Duabelas and Harapan Forest. The project goals concentrates on four mayor objectives of two deadwood types determining down deadwood and standing dead trees:

• Comparing the contribution of deadwood to carbon stocks in natural lowland rainforest to those observed in jungle rubber.
• Quantifying the chemical variables of carbon stocks, nitrogen, lignin, hemicellulose and polyphenol contents of deadwood.
• Investigation the chemical variables (C and N, lignin, hemicellulose and polyphenol contents) in deadwood during the decomposition in relation to decay classess.
• Analyzing decomposition rates due to the chemical compounds.