Environmental Engineering
B. Kartiwa; . Maswar; A. Dariah; . Suratman; N.L. Nurida; N. Heryani; P. Rejekiningrum; H. Sosiawan; S.H. Adi; I. Lenin; S. Nurzakiah; Ch. Tafakresnanto
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To minimize the potential risk of land fires, climate monitoring and hydrology characterization are crucial factors in managing peatlands. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relation between climate variability and water dynamics to develop a peatland fire early ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To minimize the potential risk of land fires, climate monitoring and hydrology characterization are crucial factors in managing peatlands. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relation between climate variability and water dynamics to develop a peatland fire early warning model.METHODS: This research was conducted in an oil palm plantation located in Pangkalan Pisang village, Koto Gasib subdistrict, Siak district, Riau province, Indonesia. Herein, the observed parameters were climate and dynamics of ground water level and soil moisture, which were monitored using data loggers installed on predefined representative locations and distributed over three blocks of 30 hectares in the palm oil plantation research site. Thus, the peat fire early warning model was developed based on the relation between peat water dynamics and the recorded history of peat fire events.FINDINGS: Herein, a recession curve analysis of soil moisture and ground water level revealed the relation between soil water dynamics and local climate. Consequently, this study found that soil moisture was the suitable parameter to estimate peat fire risk owing to its predictability. Furthermore, this study has identified a threshold of low and high peat fire risk in the area with less than 104 percent and 129 percent dry weight of soil moisture content, respectively. Afterward, this soil moisture criterion was transferred into precipitation value to develop a peat fire early warning model for estimating the days left before a high peat fire risk status was attained based on the latest daily rainfall rates.CONCLUSION: This study has developed a simple peat fire early warning model using daily precipitation data. The accurate estimation of countdown days to peat fire susceptibility status in an area would enhance fire mitigation strategies in peatlands.
Environmental Science
M. Heshmati; M. Gheitury; M. Hosseini
Abstract
In this study, to investigate the effects of runoff harvesting on soil properties in the semiarid forest, runoff harvesting through semi-circular bund was considered as a method to conserve soil and thereby combat tree mortality. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, runoff was harvested through the ...
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In this study, to investigate the effects of runoff harvesting on soil properties in the semiarid forest, runoff harvesting through semi-circular bund was considered as a method to conserve soil and thereby combat tree mortality. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, runoff was harvested through the semi-circular bund affecting soil quality and moisture storage. The selected forest site is located in Kalehzard, Kermanshah, in Zagros region of western Iran. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with four treatment plots: bund with protection, protection treatment, bund without protection and control treatment. The results showed that the mean values of soil organic carbon in the bund with protection, protection treatment, bund without protection and control treatment were 2.35, 2.40, 1.90, and 1.80%, respectively, indicating no significant difference among them in the first year, while there were significant (p> 0.05) increases in the bund with protection and protection treatment after three years. Furthermore, coarse and very coarse soil aggregates increased significantly in the bund with protection treatment. This treatment also attributed to significant reduction in soil bulk density from 1.46 (in the first year) to 1.32 (in the third year), which enhanced soil moisture content. Finally it was found that bunds with protection significantly curtail dieback and adverse re-growing of stands due to the coupled effects of bund building and protection to curtail forest mortality in the semi-arid regions.