Highly grass fine fuel in contributing peat fire in South Sumatra

Abstract

Grass density and moisture content in peatlands are important factors in fire management and for the protection of fire prone areas. If relevant data is available, it can be used as an early warning system. In this study, a replicated trial that includes vegetation analysis of understorey species and measurement of moisture content have undertaken in 1×1 m plots, and it is used to obtain a representative image of field condition of six grasslands in Riding village and Kayulabu village, Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra. Base on this study, the average grass moisture content in the wet season is 70.2%, a non-flammable condition. The grass will decrease continuously in dry season to extreme dry conditions and become highly flammable. The average grass fresh biomass in Riding village, Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra is 8.6 ton/ha, equivalent to 1.3 ton/ha dry biomass which is potentially a highly flammable fine fuel. This is associated with a positively reinforcing feedback loop between burning and grazing. In dry condition, that conditions is stimulated for forest peat fire.