RBiodiversity research in our pro-poor carbon projects moving with highly dedicated students

As we "speak" now, our RPL team is setting up the bio acoustic equipment in the field, west sumatra, after days of testing and solving all technical issues.

In the meantime, a group of 5 intelligent and highly motivated students from Brawijaya University, Malang, are conducting below-ground biodiversity research. They also take soil samples to be analysed, in order to see changes /improvements in soil conditions (and soil carbon) from our degraded baseline state to fully grown agroforests. Some farmers are helping with the fieldwork. They are also interested in the research and enjoy the lively discussions. In the evenings, ethnobotany issues are being discussed with our participating farmers, to get more uderstanding of why they protect or plant specific tree species in our carbon sites and for what uses. This will help us even more to understand farmer priorities to plant certain tree species.

Surviving on rice, tea, "french fries" with tempe, cookies and lots of sambal 😁, under rainy and sometimes very muddy conditions, it is unbelievable to see their dedication and positive work ethics to do science-based research on biodiversity changes in our carbon projects of West Sumatra.

By the end of May, a preliminary report with results should be ready, looking very much forward to it.
#biodiversity#carbon#restoration#agroforestry