Sigit Deni Sasmito

Sigit is a wetlands ecologist at James Cook University's Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER). He has more than a decade of experience researching the roles and impacts of tropical wetlands in climate change mitigation and adaptation, with a focus on high carbon stock ecosystems such as peatland and blue carbon ecosystems (mangrove, seagrass, tidal marsh) across the Asia-Pacific region, including Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and Australia.

His research spans carbon monitoring, greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, ecosystem restoration assessment, and nature-based climate solutions. He applies interdisciplinary approaches including systematic review and meta-analysis, spatial mapping, field assessment, and laboratory analysis using stable isotope and radionuclide sediment dating techniques. His work is closely tied to policy and decision-making, providing science-based evidence on how to integrate wetland conservation and restoration into national emissions reduction targets and voluntary carbon market mechanisms. Sigit holds a PhD in Environmental Science from Charles Darwin University, Australia, and a BSc in Applied Meteorology from IPB University, Indonesia.

Sigit welcomes students for internship placements and thesis projects on topics including:

• Mangrove blue carbon and land use change,
• Tropical peatland as a natural climate solution (with a focus on North Australia and Southeast Asia),
• Mangrove restoration opportunity assessment,
• Sediment and aquatic carbon fluxes (CO₂ and CH₄) across tidal wetlands such as mangroves and saltmarshes, and
• Spatial and field data integration for carbon emissions assessment.

Interested students are encouraged to get in touch to discuss potential projects.

Indonesian students seeking an LPDP Scholarship who wish to pursue a PhD on any of the above topics are welcome to contact Sigit. Registration for LPDP Phase 2 closes on 31 July 2026, so early contact is encouraged. James Cook University is one of only two Australian universities listed by LPDP as eligible for doctoral study in Ecology.

Selected publications (see full publication list in Google Scholar):

1. Sasmito, Taillardat, Adinugroho, Krisnawati, Novita, Fatoyinbo, Friess, Page, Lovelock, Murdiyarso, Taylor, Lupascu. 2025. Half of land use carbon emissions in Southeast Asia can be mitigated through peat swamp forest and mangrove conservation and restoration. Nature Communications. 16, 740. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55892-0
2. Murdiyarso, Swails, Hergoualc’h, Bhomia, Sasmito. 2024. Refining greenhouse gas emission factors for Indonesian peatlands and mangroves to meet ambitious climate targets. PNAS. doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2307219121
3. Sasmito, Basyuni, Kridalaksana, Saragi-Sasmito, Lovelock, Murdiyarso. 2023. Challenges and opportunities for achieving Sustainable Development Goals through restoration of Indonesia’s mangroves. Nature Ecology and Evolution. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01926-5
4. Sasmito, Sillanpää, Hayes, Bachri, Saragi-Sasmito, Sidik, Hanggara, Mofu, Rumbiak, Hendri, Rumbiak, Taberima, Suhaemi, Nugroho, Pattiasina, Widagti, Barakalla, Rahajoe, Hartantri, Nikijuluw, Jowey, Heatunubun, Ermgassen, Worthington, Howard, Lovelock, Friess, Hutley, Murdiyarso. 2020. Mangrove blue carbon stocks and dynamics are controlled by hydrogeomorphic settings and land-use change. Global Change Biology, 26 (5), 3028-3039. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15056 
5. Sasmito, Kuzyakov, Lubis, Murdiyarso, Hutley, Bachri, Friess, Martius, Borchard. 2020. Carbon burial and sources in soils of coastal mudflat and mangrove ecosystems. Catena, 187. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.104414 
6. Sasmito, Taillardat, Clendenning, Cameron, Friess, Murdiyarso, Hutley. 2019. The effect of land-use and land-cover changes (LULCC) on mangrove blue carbon: a systematic review. Global Change Biology, 25 (12), 4291-4302.  doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14774 
7. Sasmito, Murdiyarso, Friess, Kurnianto. 2016. Can mangroves keep pace with contemporary sea level rise? A global data review. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 24 (2), 263-278. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9466-7