Fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s threatened Peatland areas over two Decades
Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the Island of Borneo, has an estimated 45,000 km2 of tropical peatland and represents one of the largest stocks of tropical peat carbon. However, over the last three decades, the peatlands of Indonesia, and Kalimantan in particular, have been heavily degraded or...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1221797/full |
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| author | Andres Schmidt Lisa M. Ellsworth Grace A. Boisen Nisa Novita Anjelita Malik Adi Gangga Israr Albar Ati Dwi Nurhayati Rasis Putra Ritonga Adibtya Asyhari J. Boone Kauffman |
| author_facet | Andres Schmidt Lisa M. Ellsworth Grace A. Boisen Nisa Novita Anjelita Malik Adi Gangga Israr Albar Ati Dwi Nurhayati Rasis Putra Ritonga Adibtya Asyhari J. Boone Kauffman |
| author_sort | Andres Schmidt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the Island of Borneo, has an estimated 45,000 km2 of tropical peatland and represents one of the largest stocks of tropical peat carbon. However, over the last three decades, the peatlands of Indonesia, and Kalimantan in particular, have been heavily degraded or destroyed by drainage of peatland swamps, deforestation, land cover change for agriculture, and intentional burning. Many studies have examined degradation of peat forests and the associated frequency of fires, often focusing on specific regions of Kalimantan over limited periods. Here, we present our results of a spatially comprehensive, long-term analysis of peatland fires in Kalimantan over more than two decades from early 2001 to the end of 2021. We examined the effects of changing climate conditions, land cover change, and the regulatory framework on the total burned area and frequency and severity of peatland fires over a 21-year period by combining extensive datasets of medium-resolution and high-resolution satellite imagery. Moreover, surface fire intensity was modeled for four dominant land use/land cover types to determine how land use change alters fire behavior. Our results confirm a consistent and strong spatiotemporal correlation between hydro-climatological drivers associated with El Niño conditions on peatland fire frequencies and burned peatland area. Changes in the number of fires and burn severity are visible over time and are caused by a combination of large-scale meteorological patterns and changing regulations. A significant relative increase of the “high” and “very high” severity across all peatland fires in Kalimantan was found for the latest period from 2015 through 2021 by 12.1 and 13.4%, compared to the two previous 7-year periods from 2001 to 2007 period and from 2008 to 2014, respectively, whereas the total peatland area burned decreased in 2015 to 2021 by 28.7% on average compared to the previous periods. The results underline the importance of a comprehensive approach considering physical aspects of overarching climate conditions while improving political and regulatory frameworks to mitigate the negative effects of burning tropical peatlands. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:43:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5a5cd8818eea469383615ba8355b5d73 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-893X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:43:27Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a5cd8818eea469383615ba8355b5d732024-02-26T04:29:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Forests and Global Change2624-893X2024-02-01710.3389/ffgc.2024.12217971221797Fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s threatened Peatland areas over two DecadesAndres Schmidt0Lisa M. Ellsworth1Grace A. Boisen2Nisa Novita3Anjelita Malik4Adi Gangga5Israr Albar6Ati Dwi Nurhayati7Rasis Putra Ritonga8Adibtya Asyhari9J. Boone Kauffman10Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United StatesDepartment of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United StatesDepartment of Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United StatesYayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara, Jakarta, IndonesiaYayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara, Jakarta, IndonesiaYayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara, Jakarta, IndonesiaIndonesia Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), Jakarta, IndonesiaFaculty of Forestry and Environment, IPB University, Bogor, IndonesiaYayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara, Jakarta, IndonesiaYayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara, Jakarta, IndonesiaIllahee Sciences International, Corvallis, OR, United StatesKalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the Island of Borneo, has an estimated 45,000 km2 of tropical peatland and represents one of the largest stocks of tropical peat carbon. However, over the last three decades, the peatlands of Indonesia, and Kalimantan in particular, have been heavily degraded or destroyed by drainage of peatland swamps, deforestation, land cover change for agriculture, and intentional burning. Many studies have examined degradation of peat forests and the associated frequency of fires, often focusing on specific regions of Kalimantan over limited periods. Here, we present our results of a spatially comprehensive, long-term analysis of peatland fires in Kalimantan over more than two decades from early 2001 to the end of 2021. We examined the effects of changing climate conditions, land cover change, and the regulatory framework on the total burned area and frequency and severity of peatland fires over a 21-year period by combining extensive datasets of medium-resolution and high-resolution satellite imagery. Moreover, surface fire intensity was modeled for four dominant land use/land cover types to determine how land use change alters fire behavior. Our results confirm a consistent and strong spatiotemporal correlation between hydro-climatological drivers associated with El Niño conditions on peatland fire frequencies and burned peatland area. Changes in the number of fires and burn severity are visible over time and are caused by a combination of large-scale meteorological patterns and changing regulations. A significant relative increase of the “high” and “very high” severity across all peatland fires in Kalimantan was found for the latest period from 2015 through 2021 by 12.1 and 13.4%, compared to the two previous 7-year periods from 2001 to 2007 period and from 2008 to 2014, respectively, whereas the total peatland area burned decreased in 2015 to 2021 by 28.7% on average compared to the previous periods. The results underline the importance of a comprehensive approach considering physical aspects of overarching climate conditions while improving political and regulatory frameworks to mitigate the negative effects of burning tropical peatlands.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1221797/fullpeatland fireschanges in burn severity over 2 decadessatellite analysis of peatland firesfire frequency in Kalimantanclimate effects on peatland fires |
| spellingShingle | Andres Schmidt Lisa M. Ellsworth Grace A. Boisen Nisa Novita Anjelita Malik Adi Gangga Israr Albar Ati Dwi Nurhayati Rasis Putra Ritonga Adibtya Asyhari J. Boone Kauffman Fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s threatened Peatland areas over two Decades Frontiers in Forests and Global Change peatland fires changes in burn severity over 2 decades satellite analysis of peatland fires fire frequency in Kalimantan climate effects on peatland fires |
| title | Fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s threatened Peatland areas over two Decades |
| title_full | Fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s threatened Peatland areas over two Decades |
| title_fullStr | Fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s threatened Peatland areas over two Decades |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s threatened Peatland areas over two Decades |
| title_short | Fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s threatened Peatland areas over two Decades |
| title_sort | fire frequency intensity and burn severity in kalimantan s threatened peatland areas over two decades |
| topic | peatland fires changes in burn severity over 2 decades satellite analysis of peatland fires fire frequency in Kalimantan climate effects on peatland fires |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1221797/full |
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