Peatland Fires Research Articles

Real-Time Monitoring System for Peatland Fire Potential Based on Internet of Things

This research aims to develop a real-time monitoring system for peatland fire potential based on the Internet of Things (IoT) with a focus on early detection of potential peatland fires. The main problem to be solved is the lack of an effective system in the early detection of potential peatland fires, which can cause serious environmental impacts. The method used involves the use of air temperature, air humidity, soil moisture, and fire detection sensors integrated with alarm-based alerts. Data collection is done in real-time to provide a deeper understanding of peatland conditions and potential fire risks. The research results show that the developed system is capable of providing accurate and fast information related to peatland conditions, thus helping to prevent and reduce the impact of peatland fires. With this system, it is expected to increase efficiency in early fire detection and minimize the losses caused by peatland fires.

Discourse Analysis of Forest and Land Fire Management in Indonesia

The agriculture, forestry, and land use (AFOLU) sector is Indonesia's largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Within this sector, forest and peatland fires has a major emissions impact. Optimizing fire management requires collaboration among various parties and should address the underlying causes of burning. Scientific media provides insights into important actors, potential causes, and implementation of forest fire control at national and local levels. This research uses discourse analysis to analyze the role of scientific media in providing information regarding forest fires and fire management activities. It finds an inconsistency between scientific articles and observational data. Furthermore, there is a bias in addressing the causes and efforts to control forest fires. National journals indicate that forest and land fire management in Indonesia focus primarily on ecological aspects and do not take into economic factors, despite economic reasons being the most common cause of fires. Keywords: discourse, forest fire, management, scientific media

The dispersion of smoke haze from peatland fires over South Sumatra during the moderate El Niño of 2023

The dispersion of smoke haze from peatland fires over South Sumatra during the moderate El Niño of 2023

The Pentahelix Role in Tourism Destination Management Sebangau National Park Palangka Raya City

The existence of Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan is a government effort to save and protect ecosystems that have started to deteriorate in the Sebagau area due to logging, poaching, and forest burning for land clearing conducted illegally by the community. In addition to these problems, the existence of Sebangau National Park is also to minimize the impact caused by global warming in the form of high air temperatures, which can trigger forest and peatland fires which occur almost every year in Palangka Raya City. Forest fires can damage ecosystems, releasing carbon and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere so that they can pollute water, soil and air. In addition, the smoke produced can also interfere with public health. The involvement of Pentahelix actors in the management of the Sebangau National Park tourism destination in Palangka Raya City is to make tourism at this destination sustainable. This research is designed as qualitative research supported by quantitative data, often referred to as a mixed method. Data collection was conducted through observation, semi-structured interviews, document studies, and questionnaires. The analysis method used in this study is Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM) to map the role of Pentahelix with three elements consisting of: actor elements, need elements, and constraint elements. The ISM analysis results identified the main actors in the management of the Sebangau National Park tourism destination in Palangka Raya City as the Sebangau National Park Office in Palangka Raya City (government) and the Getek Maju Mandiri Group (community). The primary need in management is the Pentahelix collaboration and sustainable ecotourism. The main constraints in management are the incomplete availability of facilities and infrastructure and the lack of coordination between the government, private sector, and community.

Potential forest fire during the long dry season Province Riau & Jambi

Background: Air pollution is a very serious problem nowadays. Air pollution can be caused by the problem of haze from forest fires that occurred in 2015 & 2019 in Province Riau & Jambi. The worst conditions occurred in the period 1997-1998 and in 2006-2007. In 2015 & 2019 the haze conditions returned to the 1997 period. Province Riau & Jambi contributed to the largest hotspots in forest fires compared to North Sumatra or Kalimantan. The increase in the haze that has continued for the past three months is very worrying because the haze is getting worse and thicker, making the visibility of the affected areas even smaller. The purpose of this research to know the capabilities being run the Riau provincial government has been in control of who impressed off guard because repeated continuously, and whether factors constr ai nts and defienc e i nflu enci ng th e c apab i li ti es of th e Province Riau & Jambi government. Method: Descriptive research is research that aims to describe, describe and analyze existing events and aims to obtain information about the impact of the haze in Province Riau & Jambi with existing theories so that it can be used in mitigation in different places. FIndings: The urgency in this study to see why the Province Riau & Jambi government off guard so persistent, because the capabilities of the system and the process will involve considering the fire that occurred not once or twice only. Conclusion: The main causes of forest and peatland fires in Riau are human activities, such as the use of fire for land clearing and agricultural practices, combined with natural conditions like dry land and extreme hot weather. These fires significantly impact human health, social interactions, and the environment, necessitating critical awareness among farmers to act responsibly and monitor fire spread to prevent future losses. Novelty/Originality of this article: By analyzing the inhibiting factors and definitions that influence local government capacity, this study opens new insights into the complexity of environmental disaster management involving interactions between human activities, natural conditions, and institutional capacity.

Peatland wetness as an indicator of fire occurrence in forest and land fires (FLFs)

Background: Peatland ecosystems play an important role in the hydrological cycle and carbon cycling. In Indonesia, peatlands store about 28.6 gigatonnes of carbon which is equivalent to 10 years of global fossil fuel emissions. Peatlands act as a water storage during wet seasons and slowly release water during dry seasons to maintain river discharges and hydrological balance. However, climate change induced prolong drought has increased peatland dryness in recent decades which elevate the risks of unwanted peatland fires. During El Nino-induced drought in 2015, over 2.6 million hectares of forest and land burned, emitting 0.81–1.4 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases. The extreme fires damaged biodiversity, degraded water quality and displaced thousands of locals. This study aimed to analyze peatland wetness as an indicator of fire occurrences in forest and land fires (FLFs) in Riau, Indonesia by examining the relationship between degree of peatland wetness derived from satellite imagery and hotspots data. Methods: Peatland wetness was estimated from microwave backscattering coefficients at several RadarSat synthetic aperture radar (SAR) wavelengths and cross validated with water table depth measurements from 120 monitoring wells. Hotspots data between 2015-2020 were obtained from NASA's MODIS active fire product. Finding: Preliminary results showed significant negative correlations between peatland wetness and numbers of hotspots in peatlands, with more hotspots occurring in drier peatlands compared to wetter ones. This implies that maintaining peatland hydrological functions through continuoussaturation is pivotal to prevent severe peatland wildfires under future climate change. Conclusion: Conservation efforts to restore hydrological balance in degraded peatlands through re-wetting strategies are recommended. Further research utilizing machine learning algorithms to produce high-resolution peatland wetness maps can improve fire risk monitoring in peatlands. Novelty/Originality of this Study: This study introduces the novel concept of utilizing peatland wetness as a key indicator for predicting and mitigating forest and land fires in Indonesia, particularly in Riau Province. By combining peatland moisture and temperature data, the research establishes threshold values to better predict fire risks and guide timely mitigation efforts, thereby enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of FLF response activities.

Persepsi Masyarakat Terhadap Kegiatan Pembasahan Lahan Untuk Restorasi Gambut (Studi kasus Di Desa Merbau Kecamatan Bunut Kabupaten Pelalawan)

The clearing of peat swamp land which is exacerbated by poor water management causes damage to the peat ecosystem and is prone to land fires during the dry season. To overcome this problem, it is necessary to re-wet the land, including by building canal blockings. This study aims to examine community perceptions of land re-wetting activities in the framework of peat restoration in Merbau Village, Bunut Sub District, Pelalawan District. Data collection uses interviews, field observations, and document studies. Informants were selected purposively, namely community members involved and affected by peatland re-wetting activities. Data were analyzed by descriptive qualitative. The results of this study indicate that the community has different perceptions to the peatlands re-wetting using canal blocks built on the community's oil palm plantation land. Some people have a positive perception because they have felt the benefits from a socio-economic perspective and reduced the recurring peatland fires in Merbau Village. They even have the awareness to take care of the existing canal blocks. However, some people still object to the construction of canal blocks on their own land because it will disturb the oil palm plantations and the process of harvesting the palm fruit.Keywords: canal blocking, community perception, Merbau Village, peat.

Sustaining Peatlands: Community-driven Fire Reduction and Land Management

This study aimed to analyze sustainable peatland management to reduce the risk of peatland fires. Data were collected through observations and interviews with 20 informants, including farmers, civil servants, heads of government offices, and the Masyarakat Peduli Api (MPA) or Fire Care Community. Findings confirmed that knowledge of peatland characteristics, economic morals, local wisdom, and adaptation carried out by the community has an impact on sustainable peatland management. Local knowledge about the peatland, economic morals, and adaptations have been passed on from generation to generation by reducing land preparation by burning and using appropriate agricultural equipment and farming systems. Managing peatlands while maintaining local wisdom through the tapulikampar system is a better option to reduce the risk of land fires. If the community continues to maintain the local values in managing peatlands, the risk of fires on peatlands can be reduced. Keywords: Ce4ommunity, land management, sustainable, fire reduction, peatland

Accessing the Low-Polar Molecular Composition of Boreal and Arctic Peat-Burning Organic Aerosol via Thermal Analysis and Ultrahigh-Resolution Mass Spectrometry: Structural Motifs and Their Formation.

Peatland fires emit organic carbon-rich particulate matter into the atmosphere. Boreal and Arctic peatlands are becoming more vulnerable to wildfires, resulting in a need for better understanding of the emissions of these special fires. Extractable, nonpolar, and low-polar organic aerosol species emitted from laboratory-based boreal and Arctic peat-burning experiments are analyzed by direct-infusion atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (UHRMS) and compared to time-resolved APPI UHRMS evolved gas analysis from the thermal analysis of peat under inert nitrogen (pyrolysis) and oxidative atmosphere. The chemical composition is characterized on a molecular level, revealing abundant aromatic compounds that partially contain oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur and are formed at characteristic temperatures. Two main structural motifs are identified, single core and multicore, and their temperature-dependent formation is assigned to the thermal degradation of the lignocellulose building blocks and other parts of peat.

Air Pollution and Blood Pressure: Evidence From Indonesia.

Indonesia faces significant air quality issues due to multiple emissions sources, including rapid urbanization and peatland fires associated with agricultural land management. Limited prior research has estimated the episodic shock of intense fires on morbidity and mortality in Indonesia but has largely ignored the impact of poor air quality throughout the year on biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk. We conducted a cross-sectional study of the association between particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) and blood pressure. Blood pressure measurements were obtained from the fifth wave of the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS5), an ongoing population-based socioeconomic and health survey. We used the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model to simulate daily PM2.5 concentrations at 0.5°×0.625° resolution across the IFLS domain. We assessed the association between PM2.5 and diastolic and systolic blood pressure, using mixed effects models with random intercepts for regency/municipality and household and adjusted for individual covariates. An interquartile range increase in monthly PM2.5 exposure was associated with a 0.234 (95% CI: 0.003, 0.464) higher diastolic blood pressure, with a greater association seen in participants age 65 and over (1.16 [95% CI: 0.24, 2.08]). For the same exposure metric, there was a 1.90 (95% CI: 0.43, 3.37) higher systolic blood pressure in participants 65 and older. Our assessment of fire-specific PM2.5 yielded null results, potentially due to the timing and locations of health data collection. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence for an association between PM2.5 and blood pressure in Indonesia.

Efforts by the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency to Foster Environmental Awareness Among Students in Dumai City

Forest and peatland fires, as well as coastal abrassion, are environmental issues that require serious attention. This study aims to analyze the efforts made by the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency in building ecological awareness, specifically regarding peatland and mangrove ecosystems. The research employs qualitative methods through interviews, observations, documentation, and literature review. The findings indicate that the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency's efforts to promote environmental awareness involve a collaborative approach to socialization and education. The Agency collaborates with the Dumai City Government, particularly the Department of Education, in the Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening Project (P5). Learning about peatland and mangrove ecosystems is incorporated as a local content highlight in the P5 curriculum. Dumai has even become the first region in Riau Province to launch the P5 Peatland and Mangrove Curriculum. Policy interventions in educational institutions are latent efforts aimed at fostering a love for the environment concerning peatland and mangrove ecosystems and ensuring future conservation. This effort is crucial due to the increasing potential loss of peatland ecosystems in Dumai City as a result of land conversion for industrial areas. Similarly, the problem of abrassion is increasingly alarming due to the degradation of mangrove ecosystems, both from natural causes and human activities.

Evaluation of Lung Function as a Result of Bad Air Quality from Forest and Peatland Fires Concerning Work Activities

Evaluation of Lung Function as a Result of Bad Air Quality from Forest and Peatland Fires Concerning Work Activities

DESIGN OF CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) MEASUREMENT TOOL USING SIM900A AND SOLAR PANEL BASED ON WEMOS D1 MINI

With abundant natural resources, East Kalimantan has a major environmental issue: forest fires. Several cases in East Kalimantan currently garner pros and cons regarding relocating Indonesia's new capital to the region. Fires in peatlands are usually dominated by smoldering processes, resulting in the highest emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) particles. Carbon monoxide gas is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, making it difficult to detect, yet highly toxic, and can cause illness in humans. Considering the dangers caused by CO gas, this research aims to create a CO gas detector to determine air pollution conditions in the environment. This research uses an MQ-7 sensor to detect CO gas, where the data is processed into parts per million (ppm), Wemos D1 Mini as the microcontroller, and SIM900A module as the data transmitter to the website. The system uses solar panels to fulfill its power needs independently. The device's characteristics can measure CO levels ranging from 51.55 to 907.61 ppm with an average accuracy rate of 95.10% and precision of 97.18%. The model performed well overall.

Peatland Wildfires Enhance Nitrogen-Containing Organic Compounds in Marine Aerosols over the Western Pacific.

Peatland wildfires contribute significantly to the atmospheric release of light-absorbing organic carbon, often referred to as brown carbon. In this study, we examine the presence of nitrogen-containing organic compounds (NOCs) within marine aerosols across the Western Pacific Ocean, which are influenced by peatland fires from Southeast Asia. Employing ultrahigh-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) in electrospray ionization (ESI) positive mode, we discovered that NOCs are predominantly composed of reduced nitrogenous bases, including CHN+ and CHON+ groups. Notably, the count of NOC formulas experiences a marked increase within plumes from peatland wildfires compared to those found in typical marine air masses. These NOCs, often identified as N-heterocyclic alkaloids, serve as potential light-absorbing chromophores. Furthermore, many NOCs demonstrate pyrolytic stability, engage in a variety of substitution reactions, and display enhanced hydrophilic properties, attributed to chemical processes such as methoxylation, hydroxylation, methylation, and hydrogenation that occur during emission and subsequent atmospheric aging. During the daytime atmospheric transport, aging of aromatic N-heterocyclic compounds, particularly in aliphatic amines prone to oxidation and reactions with amine, was observed. The findings underscore the critical role of peatland wildfires in augmenting nitrogen-containing organics in marine aerosols, underscoring the need for in-depth research into their effects on marine ecosystems and regional climatic conditions.

Carbon Trading and Its Role in Shaping Indonesia’s Environmental Resilience to Climate Change

Abstract In Indonesia, considerable environmental issues originate from industrial and agricultural activity, peatland fires, and deforestation. The government of Indonesia is legally required to adopt efforts to address these challenges. One feasible alternative under discussion is the formation of a carbon market, whereby firms are issued permits to release particular amounts of greenhouse gases. This notion has attracted support from both the European Union (EU) and numerous Asian nations. This paper investigates the function and importance of carbon emission trading systems in attaining carbon reduction targets. Leveraging global data envelope analysis (DEA), it formulates performance indicators for energy consumption and carbon emissions via a two-stage procedure. Furthermore, the study assesses the policy effect of carbon trading by developing counterfactual trajectories using the synthetic control technique. The study presents the notion of carbon markets and analyzes its potential to become a vital aspect of Indonesia’s climate mitigation plans. It indicates that carbon markets contain the ability to dramatically boost carbon and energy-carbon performance, mostly owing to technical restrictions and stakeholder participation.

Analysis of Peatland Research Trends Based on BERTopic

Peatlands comprise approximately 3% of the land area worldwide. Peatland exists in most countries, including tropical, subtropical, and boreal regions. Accordingly, peatland has garnered increased research attention as a potential countermeasure against climate change. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and comprise the topics constituting global peatland research. In this study, we applied BERTopic—a topic modeling technique—to analyze relatedness between research topics to classify global peatland research trends, evaluate changes over time, and analyze the relationships between topics. To this end, we searched the keyword “peatland” on ScienceDirect—a global academic publication data platform—and collected the titles and abstracts from 10,158 publications from 1953 to 2022 for dynamic topic modeling and network analysis. Eighty-two peatland research topics were identified, which were combined into 15 main topics. Over time, an increasing trend was observed in topics related to production, management, and fire. In addition, upon analysis of the relationships between topics, three groups centered on fire, peatland value, and carbon were identified. We anticipate that the findings of this study can be expanded to analyze trends in research related to fires in peatlands, regional characteristics of peat soil, prediction of greenhouse gases emission and mitigation due to peatland fires, and prediction of future peatland research topics.

Perceptions of farmers regarding peatland restoration model of paludiculture in South Sumatra, Indonesia

Peatland fires are a common problem requiring urgent and comprehensive action. Therefore, this research aimed to examine perceptions of farmers regarding paludiculture model in peatland restoration efforts. The methodology used was a case-study design, while sampling was carried out with a deliberate method, producing a total of 50 farmers. Data analysis was performed through tabulation followed by interpretation using Likert tables. Statistical tests were conducted with chi-square, multiple linear regression, and logistic analysis. The results showed that perceptions of farmers were in a good category, with the influencing factors being social, economic, and environmental. Efforts made by the government and academics produced significant results regarding the factors influencing perceptions to adopt paludiculture model. Adopters were divided into five categories of farmers with the largest number being the initial majority, namely 23. Chi-square analysis identified variables strongly related to perceptions of farmers, including income, production amount, and education. The decision of farmers depends on the assessment of perceptions regarding the paludiculture model. In conclusion, the paludiculture model is a solution for making informed decisions to sustain peatland and yield significant profits for farmers.

Community empowerment for reducing the risk of peatland fires in the wetland area of South Kalimantan

Fires that continue to occur in the dry season, cause fire management to be carried out immediately. Community empowerment in fire suppression is essential to improve. This study analyzes community empowerment in fire management in fire-prone peatland areas in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The number of samples in this study was 250 people directly involved in empowerment activities in fire-prone areas. There are 37 questions about physical capital, social capital, human capital, ability in empowerment, empowerment process and community empowerment—data analysis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results show that physical capital, social capital and empowerment capabilities have not formed communities that can make decisions and are independent in combating peatland fires. Community empowerment programs are limited to volunteer groups and do not cover all community groups.

Estimating Groundwater Level in Peatlands by Using Submersible Sensor

Peatland fires pose a significant challenge in peatland management, with declining groundwater levels being a contributing factor. Real-time monitoring of groundwater levels (GWL) is essential to address this issue effectively. This study examines GWL data collected from submersible sensors and manual readings in peatlands of Tangkit Baru and Pematang Rahim villages, Jambi Province. Results reveal an increase in GWL in Tangkit Baru coinciding with rising precipitation, while Pematang Rahim experiences a contrasting decrease despite heavy rainfall. Statistical analysis, specifically t-tests, indicates no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the two measurement methods. However, slight discrepancies (0.1-1 cm) between submersible sensor and manual measurements underscore the importance of sensor maintenance for accurate GWL assessment. Keywords: Peatlands, sensors, groundwater level

Refining greenhouse gas emission factors for Indonesian peatlands and mangroves to meet ambitious climate targets

For countries' emission-reduction efforts under the Paris Agreement to be effective, baseline emission/removals levels and reporting must be as transparent and accurate as possible. For Indonesia, which holds among the largest area of tropical peatlands and mangrove forest in the world, it is particularly important for these high-carbon ecosystems to produce high-accuracy greenhouse gas inventory and to improve national forest reference emissions level/forest reference level. Here, we highlight the opportunity for refining greenhouse gas emission factors (EF) of peatlands and mangroves and describe scientific challenges to support climate policy processes in Indonesia, where 55 to 59% of national emission reduction targets by 2030 depend on mitigation in Forestry and Other Land Use. Based on the stock-difference and flux change approaches, we examine higher-tier EF for drained and rewetted peatland, peatland fires, mangrove conversions, and mangrove on peatland to improve future greenhouse gas flux reporting in Indonesia. We suggest that these refinements will be essential to support Indonesia in achieving Forest and Other Land Use net sink by 2030 and net zero emissions targets by 2060 or earlier.