Relative contribution of evapotranspiration and soil compaction to the fluctuation of catchment discharge: case study from a plantation landscape

Abstract

Over the last decade, monoculture plantations have rapidly developed in Jambi Province on Sumatra, Indonesia. Meanwhile, there has been intensification of discharge fluctuation in the study area. We examined the relative contribution of changes in evapotranspiration and soil compaction to the catchment discharge by using the Soil Water Assessment Tool model. Evapotranspiration values based on the catchment water balance analysis in intensively cultivated oil palm plantations, smallholder oil palm plantations, rubber plantations, and the secondary forest are 5.03 ± 0.30, 4.11 ± 0.38, 3.36 ± 0.32, and 4.50 ± 0.18 mm d−1, respectively. Infiltration rate in active interrows of oil palm, rubber plantations, agroforest, oil palm frond pile is 2.6 ± 1.7, 16.3 ± 6.8, 28.0 ± 3.9, 58.2 ± 21.8 cm h−1, respectively. We found that increased evapotranspiration and soil compaction increased the frequency of low discharge by 30\%, with increased evapotranspiration contributing 10\% and increased soil compaction contributing 20\%.