Abstract
Creating canal network is the first step to do agricultural practice in wetlands that aims to make the wetland dry. The existence of canal network affects the hydrological function of peat ecosystem in West Kalimantan which leads to drought and peatland fires during dry season. Canal network on peatlands causes the previously stagnant water to flow out easily through the canal. Therefore, a repressive effort is required to maintain water table in peatland. A countermeasure that has been applied to restore peat is by constructing canal blocks on the established canals. The objective of this study was to assess and evaluate changes in water table in peatlands after the construction of a canal block in Wajok Hilir Village, Mempawah Regency, West Kalimantan. Based on the water table evaluation result on peatland with and without blocked canal, it is identified that peatland surrounding blocked canal had smaller water table fluctuation than the peatland surrounding unblocked canal during 1 tidal period. This research concludes that the construction of canal block helps retain water longer in peatland so that water table can be maintained in short term and is expected to restore hydrological function of peatland in the long term.
Highlights
Agricultural practices are performed on dry lands, and in wetlands
The results of water table observation in peatland on canal where canal block is built and not built, show the difference of fluctuation of water level during 1 tidal periodic, that land surrounding canal where canal block is installed on have smaller water fluctuation compared to water table around the canal which are freely drain out the water
In peatland where a canal block installed in a quaternary canal, a decrease in water table is averaging less than 30 cm
Summary
Agricultural practices are performed on dry lands, and in wetlands. Activities in the wetlands begin by managing the land to become dry by creating drainage in the form of canal network. Since the 1960s, the wetlands of West Kalimantan Province have begun to be opened independently by Bugis and Malay residents with limited capacity possessed by the community [1]. In the 1970, to support the government's food self-sufficiency program and transmigration program to West Kalimantan, the government began to open up new lands as agricultural land with the construction of drainage canals on peatlands [1]. In addition to its function as a drainage canal, several canals are built with special functions as boundaries between hamlets in a region [2]
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