Year: 2025 | Month: December | Volume: 12 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 515-525
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20251255
Philosophy of Science in Bioenergy Agroforestry Research: Epistemological Foundations, Tensions, and an Integrative Framework
Abdul Samad Hiola1, Hasim2, Mahludin H. Baruwadi3, Weny J.A. Musa4, Dewi Wahyuni K. Baderan5
1Doctoral Program in Environmental Science, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Gorontalo
2,3,4,5Post Graduate Program, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Gorontalo
Corresponding Author: Abdul Samad Hiola
ABSTRACT
Despite growing research on bioenergy agroforestry systems (BAS), fundamental questions about knowledge production in this interdisciplinary field remain unexamined. This study analyzes the epistemological foundations shaping BAS research through systematic review of 87 recent peer-reviewed articles (2018-2024) and analysis of three Indonesian case studies.
Our findings reveal that BAS research exhibits epistemological pluralism, incorporating positivist, constructivist, and pragmatist paradigms. However, this pluralism remains largely implicit, creating three critical tensions: (1) between reductionist and holistic approaches, (2) between scientific and local knowledge systems, and (3) between universal principles and context-specific understanding. These unexamined foundations lead to methodological inconsistencies, failed knowledge integration across scales, and interventions that inadequately serve vulnerable communities.
Analysis shows positivist approaches dominate technical research (67% of biomass productivity studies), while constructivist methods prevail in socio-economic assessments (54%), yet few studies (12%) explicitly integrate multiple paradigms. Indonesian case studies demonstrate that epistemological choices have real-world consequences affecting both technical efficiency and social acceptance.
We propose an integrative epistemological framework that: (1) embraces methodological pluralism while maintaining analytical rigor, (2) recognizes diverse knowledge systems with clear validity criteria, and (3) balances theoretical advancement with practical relevance. This framework has implications for research design, interdisciplinary collaboration, and knowledge translation into policy—particularly critical for Indonesia where BAS addresses energy security, climate mitigation, and rural livelihoods simultaneously.
Keywords: philosophy of science, epistemology, bioenergy, agroforestry, sustainability science, knowledge systems, Indonesia.
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