Chapter 22
The Effect of Fire and Rewetting
on the Groundwater Level in Tropical
Peatlands
Sinta H. Silviana, Bambang H. Saharjo, Sigit Sutikno, Erianto I. Putra, and
Imam Basuki
Abstract Hydrological system strongly influences the sustainability of peatlands.
The drainage system in peatlands that is not designed appropriately will result in the
drop of groundwater level (GWL), and thus, peat will be dried and become susceptible to fire. Efforts to restore peatlands have been carried out, one of which is peat
rewetting through canal blocking. This study assessed the non-burnt and burnt
peatland areas as well as an area with canal blocking to determine the effect of fire
and canal blocking on the GWL for the foregoing variables. In each area, dipwells
were established at a distance of 1 m (representing the canal water level), 10, 50,
100, 250, and 350 m from the canal. The study clearly showed a significant
correlation between the average GWL and fire, and canal blocking as well as the
distance from the canal. Fire resulted to an increase of the average GWL, from 61 cm
to 50 cm below the ground. There were significant impacts on land use relevant to
the average GWL. Canal blocking demonstrated its role in increasing GWL on
drained peat areas by mimicking the average GWL on the reference site. This
study concluded that constructing more canal blockings and planting more fireresistant plants are critical to reduce the fire risks.
Keywords Drainage · Peat fire · Land use and land use change · Canal blocking ·
Groundwater level
S. H. Silviana (*) · B. H. Saharjo · E. I. Putra
Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
S. Sutikno
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Riau, Pekanbaru,
Indonesia
Center for Disaster Studies, University of Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia
I. Basuki
Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia
Winrock International, Jakarta, Indonesia
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_22
613
The Effect of Fire and Rewetting
on the Groundwater Level in Tropical
Peatlands
Sinta H. Silviana, Bambang H. Saharjo, Sigit Sutikno, Erianto I. Putra, and
Imam Basuki
Abstract Hydrological system strongly influences the sustainability of peatlands.
The drainage system in peatlands that is not designed appropriately will result in the
drop of groundwater level (GWL), and thus, peat will be dried and become susceptible to fire. Efforts to restore peatlands have been carried out, one of which is peat
rewetting through canal blocking. This study assessed the non-burnt and burnt
peatland areas as well as an area with canal blocking to determine the effect of fire
and canal blocking on the GWL for the foregoing variables. In each area, dipwells
were established at a distance of 1 m (representing the canal water level), 10, 50,
100, 250, and 350 m from the canal. The study clearly showed a significant
correlation between the average GWL and fire, and canal blocking as well as the
distance from the canal. Fire resulted to an increase of the average GWL, from 61 cm
to 50 cm below the ground. There were significant impacts on land use relevant to
the average GWL. Canal blocking demonstrated its role in increasing GWL on
drained peat areas by mimicking the average GWL on the reference site. This
study concluded that constructing more canal blockings and planting more fireresistant plants are critical to reduce the fire risks.
Keywords Drainage · Peat fire · Land use and land use change · Canal blocking ·
Groundwater level
S. H. Silviana (*) · B. H. Saharjo · E. I. Putra
Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
S. Sutikno
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Riau, Pekanbaru,
Indonesia
Center for Disaster Studies, University of Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia
I. Basuki
Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia
Winrock International, Jakarta, Indonesia
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_22
613