​Role of hydrology on controlling wildfire in humid tropics

​Event Type: Seminar

Event Date: 23 Mar 2018

Venue: ASE 3D Viz Laboratory Room (N2-B1c-16c)

Speaker: Muh Taufik

About the speaker:

Dr Muh Taufik completed his PhD on 'Drought and wildfire in the humid tropics' from Wageningen University and is currently a faculty member at the Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia. His main research interest is understanding hydrological processes and their influence on wildfires in Indonesia. Dr Taufik combines field research with simulation modelling to investigate drought-fire mechanisms over tropical peatlands in Indonesia.

About the event:

Tropical wetland ecosystems are deteriorating at alarming rates as most of the area is experiencing recurrent wildfires on large scale. Most studies related to wildfires are associated with climate, specifically to low precipitation. However, the importance of hydrology is overlooked. Here, we report that low groundwater recharge leads to deeper groundwater tables, which increases the likelihood of wildfire. During the dry season, groundwater table depth is a key variable to control wildfire in the tropical wetland ecosystem. We found a critical groundwater depth i.e. 80cm; the closer to this level the higher the fire risk. Below this depth, risk does not increase and groundwater does not play a role anymore. Our findings also provide evidence that massive wildfire in tropical wetlands occurs when large-scale low groundwater recharge happens. Furthermore, the findings derived from the modelling experiments show that canalization has amplified fire susceptibility and has triggered the fire season to start earlier. The findings have a practical relevance for public and private sectors, as well as for water managers and policymakers, who deal with canalization of tropical wetlands, and suggest that improved water management can reduce fire susceptibility.