RECURRENT FIRES IN TROPICAL PEATLANDS IN CENTRAL KALIMANTAN

摘要

Extensive fires were recorded in 2002 in the peatlands of Central Kalimantan although the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) for the year 2002 was relatively low. In this study we investigated the extent of fire damage and possible causes for the reappearance of fire only five years after the most destructive fire disaster observed in 1997 (BAPPENAS/ADB 1999, Page et al. 2002, Taconi 2003). Using satellite images we found that in a 5.18 million hectares (Mha) study area in Central Kalimantan 268,468 ha (5.2 %) have been burned in 2002. The comparison of the area burnt in 2002 with that of 1997 showed that 61.5 % had already been burnt in 1997. Fires destroyed mainly vegetation strongly degraded by previous fires, logging or other uses. In forests fire affected fragmented peat swamp forests (10.3 %) most while pristine peat swamp forest were affected least (4.0 %). Our results show that peat drainage, logging and previous fire damage are the major factors, which make peat swamp forests susceptible to fire. Forests, which had been burnt once, were more likely to burn again leading to a progressive degradation of the forest vegetation into fire prone bushlands that is even more susceptible to fire. This is especially critical for tropical peatlands, which store huge amounts of carbon built up in the past thousands of years. The release of enormous amounts of carbon will accelerate global warming and climate change.