KAPAS II: simulation of peatland wildfires with daily variations of peat moisture content

Abstract

Background. Peatland wildfires involve flaming vegetation and smouldering peat. The smouldering behaviour strongly depends on peat moisture, which can change significantly and quickly due to weather or human activities. Aims. We simulated wildfire in peatlands at the field scale and, for the first time, included daily variations of peat moisture. Methods. We developed KAPAS II, a cellular automaton that includes flaming and smouldering, and coupled it with PEATCLSM (Catchment Land Surface Model) for peatland hydrology. Key results. Compared with the satellite observations over 90 days of a 2018 wildfire in Borneo, KAPAS II predictions provide good agreement for burn scars (79% accuracy) and for the number of smouldering hotspots (85% accuracy). For the same burn scar, the model predicts that 54 ha of peat would smoulder when considering daily moisture variations, but only 12 ha if moisture was constant. Simulations at the same Borneo location, but in different years from 2000 to 2019, show the importance of seasons and climate events like El Niño. Conclusion. Temporal variations in peat moisture, which are strongly influenced by weather and climate, are important to predict the behaviour and severity of peatland wildfires. Implications. This model improves our understanding of wildfire behaviour in peatlands and can contribute to its mitigation.

IX International Conference on Forest Fire Research and 17th International Wildland Fire Safety Summit: introduction to special issue (Part 3)

“…Decision support systems and tools Purnomo et al (2023) presented a cellular automata model to simulate flaming and smouldering wildfires in peatlands over long duration, which, for the first time, considers daily variations in peat moisture. The model reveals that smouldering burned area varies widely depending on the daily variations in moisture.…”

BARA: cellular automata simulation of multidimensional smouldering in peat with horizontally varying moisture contents

“…crown fire, firebrands) have been successfully simulated by implementing different rules (Clarke et al 1994;Karafyllidis and Thanailakis 1997;Malamud et al 1998;Alexandridis et al 2011;Collin et al 2011;Trunfio et al 2011;Ntinas et al 2017). Unlike flaming fires, smouldering fires have been the focus of few studies involving the application of CA (Belcher et al 2010;Fernandez-Anez et al 2017, 2019Purnomo et al 2021Purnomo et al , 2023Widyastuti et al 2021).…”

“…Building on their earlier work, Purnomo et al (2023) advanced the model in Purnomo et al (2021) by incorporating temporal variations in peat MC. This updated model explored the effects of such variations on smouldering severity over extended periods.…”

Study on the Limit of Moisture Content of the Sub-Surface Fires Converted to the Surface Fires in the Boreal Forests of China

“…The former refers to surface fires and crown fires, and the main fuels are trees, shrubs, and herbs above the surface. The latter refers to sub-surface fires, and the main fuels are humus or peat below the surface [2]. Compared with flame combustion, the spread of smoldering combustion is much slower, lasts longer, even for weeks or months, and is of a lower temperature, but more pollutants and harmful gases are emitted at the same time [3,4].…”