Effects of Groundwater Level on the Occurrence of Forest and Peatland Fires: A Case of Study in Musi Banyuasin Regency

Abstract

Ground water level (GWL) is one of the indicators to predict potential fires on peatlands. Other factors, such as rainfall and hotspots, could also trigger peatland and forest fires. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between rainfall GWL, rainfall, and hotspots as indicators of forest and land fires in Musi Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra Province. The GWL data, hotspot distribution, rainfall data were processed using ArcGIS 10.6 software. Pearson bivariate correlation test was performed to determine the relationship between GWL, hotspot distribution, and rainfall. The results showed a decrease in rainfall, followed by an increase in hotspots, particularly during the dry season. The lowest rainfall and GWL occurred in July – August 2018. The increase in rainfall was not followed by the GWL increase that reflected a degraded and dry peatland condition, which could cause a decrease of peat ability to absorb and store water properly. The results also showed an inverse relationship between hotspots and GWL, which means that a decrease in the GWL will follow the increase in hotspots and vice versa. This explains that the increase of hotspots contributed to a drought on the GWL of the peatlands. Keywords: ground water level, forest fire, hotspot, Musi Banyuasin, peatland, rainfall