Correlation of Dry days and Wildfires based on Water Balance in Tropical Peatland
Novitasari Novitasari(a*), Joko Sujono(a), Sri Harto(a), Azwar Maas(b), Rachmad Jayadi(a)
(a) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No 2, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia
(b) Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Flora, Bulak Sumur, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia
Abstract
Abstract Peatland is a unique ecosystem with a very high diversity. However, peatland is vulnerable ecosystems. It is easy to damaged and difficult to be restored. There are many wildfires in tropical peatlands from the year 1997 to 2018. The research presented took place in Ex Mega Rice Project in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. This research aims to find a correlation between dry days as a meteorological aspect in wildfires phenomenon based on water balance in tropical peatlands. Quantitative method used in this research provides information about the dry days characteristics to drought index in peatland wildfire management in Central Kalimantan. The rainfall decrease is one caused by the impact of El Nino in Indonesia. It is lead to drought in tropical peatland. The achieved results revealed that the meteorological drought was occurring periodically. In the light of the presented calculations and analyses supported by the literature review, it can be assumed that drought threat is intermittent and not always is caused by a local meteorological. Extremely dry day lead to drought. Drought lead to wildfire, especially in tropical peatland. A comprehensive approach also include the influence of internal factors, which periodically strengthen or weaken the relationships in this research.
Keywords: Drought, Dry Day, Wildfires, Peatland
Topic: International Symposium of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering