Abstract. Silviana SH, Saharjo BH, Sutikno S. 2019. Effect of wildfires on tropical peatland vegetation in Meranti Islands District, Riau Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 3056-3062. Wildfires are one of the main causes of forest destruction, disturbing forest sustainability. Wildfires are mainly caused by human activities, such as land clearing, wood harvesting, draining, etc. Wildfires could induce the loss of vegetation. This study was aimed at assessing the effect of wildfires on both vegetation biomass and necromass on coastal peatland ecosystems in Sungaitohor Village, Tebing Tinggi Timur Sub-district, Meranti Islands District, Riau Province, Indonesia. Analysis of vegetation and both above and below the ground biomass composition were performed. The approach used a paired sample with 4 replications (n = 4 burnt, n=4 unburnt). The variables observed in every research sites was analyzed using Student-T test. Models were generated and then validated to understand the effect of fires on biomass. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the studied parameters between the unburned area and burned area (P <0.01). Wildfires affected the quantity of living plants (biomass) which was indicated by the fact that biomass is unburnt and burnt areas were in the ratio of 2.67 : 1. The quantity of dead plants (necromass) was greater in the burned plots than in the unburnt plots. All these findings suggest that high intensity of forest fires had occurred in the study sites.
The hydrological condition of peatlands is one of the important factors affecting peatland’s vulnerability to fire. The groundwater level (GWL) of peatlands or so-called groundwater depths is an indicator in determining the hydrological balance of peatlands. In normal conditions, peatlands are not prone to fire because they are able to hold and absorb water. Drainage on a large scale on peatlands causes the peat water level to drop so that the peat experiences water loss and is prone to fire. The disruption of the hydrological balance of peatlands can be seen in the wet month, when the water level is not much different from the conditions on a dry moon, which is still below the surface, causing peat to become flammable. The focus of this study was to determine the level of risk of fire vulnerability based on groundwater levels in peatlands, which was carried out restoration efforts, in the form of rewetting. This study, as a piece of early warning information on forest fires on GWL measurements of >40 cm, especially in the peatlands of Sungaitohor Village, Tebingtinggi Timur District, Kepulauan Meranti Regency, Riau Province. Groundwater level measurements were carried out directly in the field by installing 66 monitoring well points placed on different land uses (33 in unburned areas and 33 in burnt areas) during February - June 2019. The results showed that this region, in general, had a high level of risk of forest and land fires. The highest level of fire risk based on GWL >40 cm (danger category) was 99.63% in March. The high value of GWS >40 cm in this region made very susceptible to forest fires. In addition, extreme weather worsened the condition of peatlands into drought and was prone to fire.
Abstract. Silviana SH, Saharjo BH, Sutikno S. 2021. Distribution of carbon stocks in drainage areas on peatlands of Sungai Tohor Village, Meranti Islands District, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 5106-5114. Peatland ecosystems provide a variety of environmental services and biodiversity with their ability to store and absorb carbon. The increase of land clearing followed by the construction of drainage or canal has resulted in the degradation of peatlands and is prone to fire incidences. Canal construction, whether we realize it or not, has a negative ecological impact on the in situ (local) environment, namely land degradation and subsidence, as well as a wider (global) impact in the form of loss of carbon stocks, increased GHG emissions that can trigger global warming. This study aims to identify the distribution of carbon in the area where drainage is made where the distribution of carbon stock in starting at a distance of 10 m, 50 m, 100 m, 250 m, and 350 m from the canal. The study was conducted on the community plantations including unburned areas (rubber plantations and secondary forests) and burned areas. The influence of land use and drainage development on carbon stock distribution is rarely known. The results showed a decrease in C-Stock with a decrease in drainage distance. The quantity of carbon stock in secondary forests ranged from 13.275 ton ha-1 - 24.839 ton ha-1, Burnt Area-1 ranged from 6.995 ton ha-1 - 11.59 ton ha-1, and Burnt Area 2 ranged from 4.677 ton ha-1 - 12.580 ton ha-1. In contrast, rubber plantations had higher C-stock in the initial observation distance, around 9.064 ton ha-1 - 11.805 ton ha-1, which may be due to intensive land use near the canal.
Fire on peatlands takes place not only in areas where preparation for cultivation is in progress, but also in areas that have been cultivated, such as for sago palm growing. One of the important factors that influence the vulnerability of cultivated peatlands to fire is the availability and amount of biomass fuel that easily catches fire, such as ferns, grasses, and broadleaved shrubs in their living as well as dead (litter) stages. The present study concerns the vulnerability of peatland utilized for sago growing by smallholders, focused in Tebing Tinggi Timur, Kepulauan Meranti District, Riau Province. The objectives of this study were to analyze the composition and assess the biomass of fire catchers in the sago palm plantation. Data collection was conducted in three locations in Kepau Baru Village. In each location, a 1000 m-long transect line was drawn and 10 sampling plots of 2 m x 2 m were established along the line with 100 m intervals. Results showed that total biomass of fire catchers in this growing system was averaged at 24681 kg/ha, in which the dead plant fraction was predominating (average at 17478 kg/ha or 70.81%) over the living plant fraction (in average 7203 kg/ha or 29.19%). The latter consisted of ferns that averaged at 2.191 kg/ha or 30.42%, grasses (20 kg/ha or 0.28%), non-woody broadleaved shrubs (581 kg/ha or 8.07%), and woody broadleaved shrubs (4411 kg/ha or 61.24%). The amount of fire catchers in relatively large quantities in this plantation system could magnify fire risk during drier months, especially during El-nino years. Keywords: biomass, fire risk, grasses, non-woody broadleaved shrubs, woody broadleaved shrubs
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