Notes on Fire Frequency, Intensity, and Severity in Kalimantan's Peatlands

Citation: Page, S. E., et al. (2011). “The amount of carbon stored in tropical peatland: implications for climate change.”

Background and Significance

Location: Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, contains 45,000 km² of tropical peatland.

Importance: Significant carbon sink, storing approximately 57 Gt of carbon (Page et al., 2011).

Threats: Over three decades of degradation due to drainage, deforestation, land conversion for agriculture, and intentional burning.

Research Focus

Objective: To analyze fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s peatlands over a span of more than 20 years (2001-2021).

Data Sources: Integration of medium and high-resolution satellite imagery to track burn events and analyze climatic influences.

Key Findings

Spatiotemporal Analysis: Notable correlation between hydro-climatological factors, particularly during El Niño years, and fire events.

Fire Severity Trends: Significantly higher percentages of "high" and "very high" severity burns observed in the latest analyzed periods (2015-2021) compared to earlier periods (2001-2007 and 2008-2014).

12.1% increase in "high" burn severity and a 13.4% increase for "very high" severity compared to previous intervals.

Total Burned Area: Reduction of average burned area by 28.7% in recent years despite increased fire severity.

Climatic Influences on Fire Events

Drivers of Fire Frequency: Strong interrelation with climatic anomalies, such as increased air temperatures and lowered precipitation ratios.

Climatic Events: The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) reveals significant correlations; negative values associate with El Niño and elevated fire occurrences.

Fire Frequency Analysis: Annual fire counts correlated with both precipitation anomalies (RS = −0.92) and air temperature anomalies (RS = 0.88).

Modeling Fire Behavior

Existing Models: Fire behavior characterized via the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) incorporating environmental data (moisture content and wind conditions).

Fire Intensity Metrics: Various land cover types assessed for potential surface fire intensity, flame length, and reaction intensity.

Outcomes vary significantly across ecosystem types (forest vs oil palm plantations).

Long-term Land Use Change and Fire Impact

Land Use/ Land Cover (LULC) Changes: Significant shifts from natural peat ecosystems to agriculture (oil palm, plantations) increase fire susceptibility.

Environmental Management: Historical context of forest fire management and regulatory frameworks established post the catastrophic fire events (e.g., 1997 fires).

Regulatory Framework: Examination of laws aimed at preventing peatland clearance through burning, including restrictions imposed post-2015 fire season.

Recommendations for Future Management

Policy Enhancements: Improved alignment and implementation of regulations at national and regional levels.

Increased Focus on Prevention: Greater emphasis on fire prevention activities rather than reactive management, and improved funding for fire risk mitigation strategies.

Conclusion

By comprehensively assessing fire frequencies, burn severity, and climatic interactions, the study outlines essential insights for effective management of peatlands in Kalimantan, which has considerable implications for global climate change mitigation efforts.