Biomass Society Research

The tropics have the highest potentiality to reproduce biomass due to the available greater solar radiation, active heat and water cycle. The region has also been the most fertile ground for bio-resource commodification in human history. With the changing status of biomass as forest and agricultural products, bio-materials, and financial instruments (related to carbon sinks, REDD, etc.) the tropical zone has undergone fast-paced metamorphoses. This has taken place with the development of intensive agro-industrial production systems, including large-scale plantations of oil palm, Acacia mangium, teak, coffee, tea, sugarcane, and cassava, to name a few.

Through defining high biomass society as a crucial niche for global survival and sustainability, this cluster seeks innovative research topics and methodologies to examine the multi-dimensional driving forces of change in Southeast Asia. High biomass societies in the tropics offer important locales to investigate the transformation of regional landscapes for food production, the development of renewable sources of energy and biomaterials, and the reduction of carbon emissions. New formulas are duly needed for better articulation among human communities, local fauna and flora, geospheric/atmospheric circulations, and a global political economy.