Abstract
In a tropical peat-forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, massive drainage canal excavation led to a significant groundwater table decrease and to peatland degradation due to wildfires. To assess how to maintain a high groundwater table in tropical peatlands, groundwater levels and canal water levels were monitored by drilling 32 shallow wells, 6 deep wells and 13 canal sites in the Block-C North area of the Ex-Mega Rice Project area. A static GPS survey was done to determine the altitudes of all observation sites, and contour maps of the ground surface and of the shallow groundwater table were made at three different times. From these results, the regional characteristics of the shallow and deep groundwater movements were clarified. Furthermore, to examine the present and the past groundwater condition in this area and also to predict a future one, we established a numerical simulation model based on the MODFLOW. According to the calibrated model, the groundwater level in the peat layer dropped to more than 2 m below the surface near Kalampangan Canal during the 2009 drought period when a severe wildfire occurred. Before the Mega Rice Project (MRP), the groundwater potentials were higher than they are at present. If several proposed dams are constructed along the Kalampangan Canal, the dam efficiency needed to maintain a high water level in the peat layer is estimated to be more than 10 cm within 400 m of the canal in the 2009 drought period.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Boswell JS, Olyphant GA (2007) Modelling the hydrologic response of groundwater dominated wetlands to transient boundary conditions: implications for wetland restoration. J Hydrol 332:467–476
Hooijer AM et al (2008) Hydrology of the EMRP area –water management implications for peatlands. Technical Report Number 2, Master plan for the rehabilitation and revitalisation of the ex-mega rice project area in Central Kalimantan. Euroconsult Mott MacDonald and Deltares and Delft Hydraulics
Hooijer A, Page S et al (2010) Current and future CO2 emissions from drained peatlands in Southeast Asia. Biogeosciences 7:1505–1514
Ishii Y, Fukami H, Koizumi K, Yamamoto K et al (2012) Characteristics of regional groundwater movement and its modelling in the block-C North area. In: Proceedings of 3rd international workshop on wild fire and carbon management in peat-forest in Indonesia, Palangka Raya, Indonesia, pp 146–152
Kalteng Consultants (2009) Airborne laser scanning/LiDAR measurements to achieve high-resolution digital elevation models of tropical peatlands, PSF, in Ex-MRP and Sebangau National Laboratory of Central Kalimantan, Technical Report for UNI-Hokkaido. Böhm, H.-D.V., Frank, J., Kalteng Consultants, www.kalteng.org
Page SE, Siegert F, Rieley JO, Böhm HDV, Jaya A, Limin S (2002) The amount of carbon released from peat and forest fires in Indonesia in 1997. Nature 420:61–65
Sieffermann RG, Fournier M et al (1988) Velocity of tropical peat accumulation in central Kalimantan, Borneo. Proc English international peat congress, Leningrad, USSR, vol 1. International Peat Society, pp 90–98
Siegert F, Rücker G, Hindrichs A, Hoffman AA (2001) Increased damage from fires in logged forests during droughts caused by El Niño. Nature 414:437–440
Siegert F, Böhm HDV, Rieley JO, Page SE, Jauhiainen J, Vasander H, Jaya A (2002) Peat fires in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia: fire impacts and carbon release. In: Rieley JO, Page SE (eds) Peatlands for people: natural resource functions and sustainable management, Proceedings of the international symposium on tropical peatland, Jakarta, 22–23 August 2001. Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology and Indonesian Peat Association, Jakarta, Indonesia, pp 142–154
Wösten JHM, Clymans E, Page SE, Rieley JO, Limin SH (2008) Peat-water interrelationships in a tropical peatland ecosystem in Southeast Asia. Catena 73:212–224
Yamamoto K, Ishii Y, Fukami H, Koizumi K et al (2011) Survey in the Kalampangan Canal for the clarification of the groundwater movement and the effect of the dam construction. In: Proceedings of 2nd international workshop on wild fire and carbon management in peat-forest in Indonesia, Palangka Raya, Indonesia, pp 194–202
Acknowledgement
Results shown in this paper were mainly obtained from SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development) project entitled as “Wild fire and carbon management in peat-forest in Indonesia” founded by JST (Japan Science and Technology Agency) and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Japan
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ishii, Y. et al. (2016). Groundwater in Peatland. In: Osaki, M., Tsuji, N. (eds) Tropical Peatland Ecosystems. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55681-7_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55681-7_17
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-55680-0
Online ISBN: 978-4-431-55681-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)