Soil and Water Conservation Mechanism in Oil Palm Plantations: A Review of Best Management Practices and Decision Support Strategies

Soil and water conservation on oil palm plantation is increasingly considered as a glimmer of hope for the future sustainability of land functionality and environment. Appropriate management practices and informed decision-making frameworks thus have a strong influence on conservation outcomes. This study aims to systematically identify, categorize, synthesize and quantitatively aggregate peer-reviewed evidence regarding soil and water conservation mechanisms in oil palm plantations, focusing on best management practice strategies and decision support. This study uses Systematic Litigation Review (SLR) the Scopus database is used as a reference in searching scientific publication. A keyword-based structured search was used to identify peer-reviewed articles published from 2020 to 2025 and subsequent screening in sequence based on relevance and language. Thirty-eight articles met all the selection criteria for analysis. Then we extracted data and analyzed it using thematic synthesis with descriptive quantitative aggregation of reported metrics (soil loss, SOC change, runoff reduction, or yield response). The results show six main interrelated themes: control of soil erosion; soil fertility and organic matter management; conservation of water and hydrological regulation; integrated land use and landscape management; agronomic best methods practices; and support for decision-making processes. Quantitative synthesis show that cover-based and structural BMPs decrease soil loss by 50–80%, organic amendments increase SOC by 10–35% and integrated water management decreases runoff by 20–60% across regions reported.