How Do Groundwater Levels and Soil Moisture Influence the Peat Fire Vulnerability Index in Oil Palm Plantations?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29244/jtcs.12.01.235-245Keywords:
early warning system, fire mitigation, hydrological, hemic, sapricAbstract
Peatland fires are a significant environmental issue, impacting local ecosystems and contributing to global climate change. This study evaluates the Peat Fire Vulnerability Index (PFVI) for sapric and hemic maturity levels under oil palm plantations in Pangkalan Pisang Village, Riau Province. Data on groundwater level, soil moisture, rainfall, and maximum temperature were collected from December 2021 to December 2022. The PFVI, modified from the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI), was calculated and correlated with these variables. The groundwater level varied from 3 cm to 76 cm below the surface, with an average of 36.23 cm. In sapric blocks, 29% of the groundwater level was less than 40 cm, while 73% were deeper. In hemic blocks, 44% were less than 40 cm, and 56% were deeper. Soil moisture in the top 10 cm layer fluctuated between 32% and 55% (v/v) Results showed significant negative correlations between PFVI and groundwater levels (r = -0.173 to -0.889) and soil moisture (r = -0.835 to -0.808), indicating that lower groundwater levels and soil moisture increase fire risk. High PFVI values in July corresponded with the lowest rainfall (59 mm) and groundwater levels below 40 cm. The study highlights the importance of monitoring hydrometeorological conditions and soil properties to effectively predict and mitigate peatland fires. Our findings are crucial for developing strategies to manage peatland sustainability and reduce fire hazards, especially in tropical regions with prevalent oil palm cultivation.
References
Adesiji, R.A., Adeoye, P.A., and Gbadebo, A.O. (2014). Review Article Effects of Water Table Fluctuations on Peatland-A Review. Scholars Journal of Engineering and Technology 2, 482–487. DOI: https://doi.org/h10.36347/sjet.
Adhi, Y.A., Anwar, S., Tarigan, S.D., and Sahari, B. (2020). Relationship between groundwater level and water content in oil palm plantation on drained peatland in Siak, Riau Province, Indonesia. Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science 43, 45–427.
Ariyanto, D.P., Aziz, A., Komariah, Sumani, and Abara, M. (2020). Comparing the accuracy of estimating soil moisture using the standardized precipitation Index (SPI) and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). Sains Tanah 17, 23–29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20961/stjssa.v17i1.41396.
Azlan, A.H., Tui, L.C., Yaw, S.K., Selveraja, S., Rohani, R., Ariffin, I., and Palaniappan, S. (2016). Impact of El Nino on palm oil production. The Planner 92, 789–806.
[BBSDLP] Balai Besar Penelitian dan Pengembangan Sumberdaya Lahan Pertanian. (2018). “Peta Lahan Gambut Indonesia Skala 1:50000”. Badan Litbang Pertanian.
Certini, G., Moya, D., Lucas-Borja, M.E., and Mastrolonardo, G. (2021). The impact of fire on soil-dwelling biota: a review. Forest Ecology and Management 488, 118989. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.118989.
Dadap, N.C., Hoyt, A.M., Cobb, A.R., Oner, D., Kozinski, M., Fua, P.V., Rao, K., Harvey, C.F., and Konings, A.G. (2021). Drainage canals in southeast Asian peatlands increase carbon emissions. AGU Advances 2, e2020AV000321. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020av000321.
Darlan, H.N., Pradiko, I., Siregar, H., and Winarna H. (2016). Dampak El Niño 2015 terhadap performa tanaman kelapa sawit di Sumatera Bagian Tengah dan Selatan. Jurnal Tanah Dan Iklim 40, 113–120.
Fanin, T., and Van Der Werf, G.R. (2017). Precipitation-fire linkages in Indonesia (1997- 2015). Biogeosciences 14, 3995–4008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3995-2017.
Gaveau, D.L.A., Salim, M.A., Hergoualc, H,K., Locatelli, B., Sloan, S., Wooster, M., Marlier, M. E., Molidena, E., Yaen, H., DeFries, R., Verchot, L., Murdiyarso, D., Nasi, R., Holmgren, P., and Sheil, D. (2014). Major atmospheric emissions from peat fires in Southeast Asia during non-drought years: Evidence from the 2013 Sumatran fires. Scientific Reports 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep06112.
Harris, L.I., Roulet, N.T., and Moore, T.R. (2020). Drainage reduces the resilience of a boreal peatland. Environmental Research Communi¬cations 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ab9895.
Hein, L., Spadaro, J.V., Ostro, B., Hammer, M., Sumarga, E., Salmayenti, R., Boer, R., Tata, H., Atmoko, D., and Castañeda, J.P. (2022a). The health impacts of Indonesian peatland fires. Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 21, 62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-022-00872-w.
Hein, L., Sumarga, E., Quiñones, M., and Suwarno, A. (2022b). Effects of soil subsidence on plantation agriculture in Indonesian peatlands. Regional Environmental Change 22, 121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-022-01979-z.
Saharjo, B.H., and Novita, N. (2022). The high potential of peatland fire management for greenhouse gas emission reduction in Indonesia. Jurnal Silvikultur Tropika 13, 53–65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29244/j-siltrop.13.01.53-65.
Holepa, R., and Safriyani, E. (2024). Dampak El Nino terhadap produksi kelapa sawit (Elais guinnensis Jacq) di Kabupaten Musi Rawas District. Agrienvi 18, 20–26. DOI: https://doi.org.10.36873/aev.v18i1.15253.
IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. (2014). “Methodological Guidance on Lands with Wet and Drained Soilds, and Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment”. In 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands. http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp.
Irfan, M., Kurniawati, N., Ariani, M., Sulaiman, A., and Iskandar, I. (2020). Study of groundwater level and its correlation to soil moisture on peatlands in South Sumatra. Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1568, 012028. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1568/1/012028.
Kartiwa, B., Maswar, Dariah, A., Suratman, Nurida, N.L., Heryani, N., Rejekiningrum, P., Sosiawan, H., Adi, S.H., Lenin, I., Nurzakiah, S., and Tafakresnanto, C. (2023). Modeling of peatland fire risk early warning based on water dynamics. Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management 9, 233–250. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22034/GJESM.2023.09.SI.14.
Kettridge, N., Turetsky, M.R., Sherwood, J.H., Thompson, D.K., Miller, C.A., Benscoter, B.W., Flannigan, M.D., Wotton, B.M., and Waddington, J.M. (2015). Moderate drop in water table increases peatland vulnerability to post-fire regime shift. Scientific Reports 5, 8063. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08063.
Kiely, L., Spracklen, D.V., Arnold, S.R., Papargyropoulou, E., Conibear, L., Wiedinmyer, C., Knote, C., and Adrianto, H.A. (2021). Assessing costs of Indonesian fires and the benefits of restoring peatland. Nature Communications 12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27353-x.
Kottek, M., Grieser, J., Beck, C., Rudolf, B., and Rubel, F. (2006). World map of the Köppen- Geiger climate classification updated. Meteorologische Zeitschrift 15, 259–263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130.
Kusuma, A.R., Shodiq, F.M., Hazim, M.F., and Laksono, D.P. (2021). Hasil studi pola kebakaran lahan gambut melalui citra satelit Sentinel-2 dengan pengimplementasian machine learning metode random forest: Kajian Literatur. JGISE: Journal of Geospatial Information Science and Engineering 4, 81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/jgise.60828.
Lisnawati, Taufik, M., Dasanto, B., dan Sopaheluwakan, A. (2022). “Potensi Kebakaran Lahan Gambut di Provinsi Jambi Berdasarkan Model Weather Research and Forecasting Tahun 2015-2018”. Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University.
Mulyani, A., Sukarman, Hikmat, M., Puspitahati, D., dan Nurwinda. (2019). “Atlas Peta Sebaran Potensi Peremajaan Kelapa Sawit Rakyat (PSR)”. Direktorat Jenderal Perkebunan dan Balai Besar Litbang Sumber Daya Lahan Pertanian.
Mulyasih, H., Akbar, L.A., Ramadhan, M.L., Cesnanda, A.F., Putra, R.A., Irwansyah, R., and Nugroho, Y.S. (2022). Experimental study on peat fire suppression through water injection in laboratory scale. Alexandria Engineering Journal 61, 12525–12537. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2022.06.036.
Novitasari, N., Sujono, J., Harto, S., Maas, A., and Jayadi, R. (2019). Drought index for peatland wildfire management in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, during El Nino. Journal of Disaster Research 14, 939–948. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2019.p0939.
Nugraha, M.I., Annisa, W., Syaufina, L., and Anwar, S. (2017). Capillary water rise in peat soil as affected by various groundwater levels. Indonesian Journal of Agricultural Science 17, 75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21082/ijas.v17n2.2016.p75-83.
Nurhayati, A.D., Saharjo, B.H., Sundawati, L., Syartinilia, S., and Cochrane, M.A. (2021). Forest and peatland fire dynamics in South Sumatra Province. Forest and Society 5, 591–603. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v5i2.14435.
Nurhayati, A.D., Saharjo, B.H., Sundawati, L., Syartinilia, and Vetrita, Y. (2020). Behaviour and perception of community on peat fire in Ogan Komering Ilir District, South Sumatera Province. Jurnal Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Alam Dan Lingkungan 10, 568–583. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29244/jpsl.10.4.568-583.
Nurzakiah, S., Wakhid, N., and Hairani, A. (2020). Carbon dioxide emission and peat hydrophobicity in tidal peatlands. Sains Tanah 17, 71–77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20961/stjssa.v17i1.41153.
Page, S., and Hooijer, A. (2016). In the line of fire: The peatlands of southeast Asia. Philosophical Translation of The Royal Society B 371, 20150176. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0176.
Putra, E.I., Cochrane, M.A., Vetrita, Y., Graham, L., and Saharjo, B.H. (2018). Determining critical groundwater level to prevent degraded peatland from severe peat fire. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/149/1/012027.
Putra, E.I., Hafni, D.A.F., Harahap, A.A.N., Cochrane, M.A., and Saharjo, B.H. (2019). Assessing rainfall pattern, groundwater level, and peat hydraulic conductivity for effective peat prevention measure. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/284/1/012021.
Putra, E.I., Saharjo, B.H., Wasis, B., Hero, Y., and Puspaningsih, N. (2020). Economic loss value from land and forest fires in oil palm plantation in Jambi, Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 504. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/504/1/012024.
Putra, E.I., Vetrita, Y., dan Graham, L.L.B. (2016). Degraded peatlands, ground water level and severe peat fire occurrences In “Proceedings of the 15th International Peat Congress” International Peat Congress. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311824608.
Saharjo, B.H., and Novita, N. (2022). The high potential of peatland fires management for greenhouse gas emissions reduction in Indonesia. Journal of Tropical Silviculture 13, 53–65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29244/j-siltrop.13.01.53-65.
Saharjo, B.H., and Wasis, B. (2019). Valuasi ekonomi kerusakan lingkungan akibat kebakaran gambut di Desa Mak Teduh Provinsi Riau. Jurnal Silvikultur Tropika 10, 58–62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29244/j-siltrop.10.1.58-62.
Sulaeman, D., Sari, E.N.N., and Westhoff, T.P. (2021). Effects of peat fires on soil chemical and physical properties: a case study in South Sumatra. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/648/1/012146.
Tarigan, S.D. (2011). Neraca air lahan gambut yang ditanami kelapa sawit di kabupaten Seruyan, Kalimantan Tengah. Jurnal Ilmu Tanah Dan Lingkungan 13, 14-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29244/jitl.13.1.14-20.
Taufik, M., Setiawan, B.I., and van Lanen, H.A.J. (2015). Modification of a fire drought index for tropical wetland ecosystems by including water table depth. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 203, 1–10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.12.006.
Taufik, M., Veldhuizen, A.A., Wösten, J.H.M., and van Lanen, H.A.J. (2019). Exploration of the importance of physical properties of Indonesian peatlands to assess critical groundwater table depths, associated drought and fire hazard. Geoderma 347, 160–169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.04.001.
Taufik, M., Widyastuti, M.T., Sulaiman, A., Murdiyarso, D., Santikayasa, I.P., and Minasny, B. (2022). An improved drought-fire assessment for managing fire risks in tropical peatlands. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 312, 107738. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108738.
Waddington, J.M., Morris, P.J., Kettridge, N., Granath, G., Thompson, D.K., and Moore, P.A. (2015). Hydrological feedbacks in northern peatlands. Ecohydrology 8, 113–127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1493.
Word, C.S., McLaughlin, D.L., Strahm, B.D., Stewart, R.D., Varner, J.M., Wurster, F.C., Amestoy, T.J., and Link, N.T. (2022). Peatland drainage alters soil structure and water retention properties: Implications for ecosystem function and management. Hydrological Processes 36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14533.
Wösten, J.H.M., Clymans, E., Page, S.E., Rieley, J.O., and Limin, S.H. (2008). Peat-water interrelationships in a tropical peatland ecosystem in Southeast Asia. Catena 73, 212–224. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2007.07.010.
Yulianti, N., Kusin, K., Murni, E., Barbara, B., Naito, D., Kozan, O., Jagau, Y., Kulu, I.P., Adji, F.F, and Susetyo, K.E. (2020). Preliminary analysis of cause-effect on forest-peatland fires prior to 2020 in Central Kalimantan. Ecotrophic 14, 62– 73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24843/EJES.2020.v14.i01.p06.
Yuwati, T.W., Rachmanadi, D., Pratiwi, Turjaman, M., Indrajaya, Y., Nugroho, H.Y.S.H., Qirom, M.A., Narendra, B.H., Winarno, B., Lestari, S., Santosa, P.B., Adi, R.N., Savitri, E., Putra, P.B., Wahyuningtyas, R.S., Prayudyaningsih, R., Halwany, W., Nasrul, B., Bastoni, and Mendham, D. (2021). Restoration of degraded tropical peatland in indonesia: A review. Land 10, 1170. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/land10111170.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All publications by Journal of Tropical Crop Science is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
