Authors:
Hidenori Takahashi, Aswin Dj Usup, Hiroshi Hayasaka, Mitsuhiko Kamiya and Suwido H. Limin
Book:
After Wise Use – The Future of Peatlands, Proceedings of the 13th International Peat Congress: Tropical Peatlands
Keywords:
air-pollution, bucket-model, groundwater-level, peat-fire, soil-moisture
Documentfile:
Takahashi et al. 2008: Peat fire, air pollution and hydrological processes
Summary:
Dense haze emitted from peat/forest fires in 1997/98 and 2002 damaged not only the peatland and forest themselves but also the social activity and human health in many countries of South-east Asia. Several components of air quality, such as carbon monoxide, ozone and particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter (PM10) etc. have been monitored since 2001 by the Environmental Impact Agency of Palangka Raya at three sites in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan. Peat moisture of the surface layer, which is a very important factor for surface peat to be ignited by sparking fire, was estimated with the one-dimensional bucket model of hy- drological processes in the peat layer from surface to one metre in depth. The seasonal changes of concentra- tions of carbon monoxide and PM10 clearly coincided with changes of peat moisture of the surface layer.