TROPICAL PEAT AND FOREST FIRE IN 2002 IN CENTRAL KALIMANTAN, ITS CHARACTERISTICS AND THE AMOUNT OF CARBON RELEASED

摘要

After the widespread fires of 1997/98, subsequent fires that occurred in 2002 caused further destruction. The voluntary fire fighting team (Tim Serbu Api, TSA-UNPAR), spent a month suppressing forest fires inside the forested area of Block C of the former Mega Rice project (MRP). Most of the area affected by fire in 2002 had been severely damaged by fire in 1997 and dead trees remaining from the previous event played a significant role in spreading the fires to a wider area in 2002. Remote sensed image analysis shows that the area affected by fire in 2002 was less than that in 1997 and extended over 18.9% of Block B and 14% of Block C of the former MRP. The amount of peat burnt away ranged from 3.5 to 44.5 cm with an average of 21.04 ± 8.61 cm. The amount of carbon emitted from Block C was between 0.010 and 0.025 Gt with an average of 0.017 Gt whilst, for Block B it was between 0.004 and 0.009 Gt with an average of 0.007 Gt. The extent of the fires and the amount of carbon liberated was less in 2002 than in 1997 but it never the less made a significant contribution to atmospheric carbon.