There are two main challenges facing the degraded peatland on the risk of fire, as
found in this study. First is the low average GWL in the non-burnt areas and the
second is the shrub cover of the burnt sites. The low average GWL (i.e. À49 cm to
À81 cm) in the non-burnt sites reveals the threat of the availability of numerous fire
fuel within peat surfaces during the dry season. While the shrub cover of poor
vegetation canopy provides highly flammable materials on the hot and dry peat
surface for fire ignition. These two challenges should be considered carefully in the
future peatland management, including constructing more canal blockings to
increase GWL in the non-burnt sites, and planting more fire-resistant plants in the
burnt sites.
Fig. 22.7 Average GWL in burnt area that is similar on both side of canal. Slightly higher GWL
can be noticed on the right side than the left, except for those closest area from canal (<50 m)
Fig. 22.8 Further areas from canal blocking site, which have higher elevation, show lower GWL
(bigger gap between peat surface and GWL elevation, marked in brown)
22 The Effect of Fire and Rewetting on the Groundwater Level in Tropical Peatlands
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