During the dry season, extensive peatland fires in South Sumatra and another peatland in Indonesia result in environmental damage and pose health risks to humans. The Indonesian Government has implemented several measures to prevent the recurrence of these fires. One such measure involves the establishment of observation stations to monitor hydrometeorological parameters in different peatlands across Indonesia, including those in South Sumatra. To effectively control fires in South Sumatra’s peatland and minimize hotspot occurrences, it is essential to determine hydrometeorological parameters that can serve as fire control indicators. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between groundwater levels and hotspot occurrences by analyzing groundwater level data collected from six Peat Restoration Agency stations in South Sumatra’s peatland, along with hotspot data obtained from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite measurements. The findings reveal a significant correlation between groundwater levels and hotspots at the six stations. As the GWL increased, the number of hotspots tended to decrease, and vice versa. This means that GWL can be used as a controlling variable for hotspot emergence. To effectively minimize hotspot occurrences, it is recommended to maintain a minimum groundwater level of −0.45 ± 0.09 m in the peatland of South Sumatra.

Peatlands are wetlands with an accumulation of peats, partially decomposed organisms, under waterlogged and anoxic conditions. Despite peatlands being extensively studied due to their wide distribution and various functions, the trends in peatland research have hardly been analyzed. We performed dynamic topic modeling (DTM) and network analysis to investigate the changes in the global trends in peatland research. Among the searched studies using the keyword ‘peatland’ from ScienceDirect, titles and abstracts from 9541 studies (1995–2022) were used for the analysis. They were classified into 16 topics via DTM (geomorphology, land use and land cover, production, greenhouse gas, habitat, permafrost, management, deposit, fire, soil organic matter, peatland formation, forest, past environmental change, microbe, metal, and hydrology). Among these, the proportion of ‘management’ was the largest and increased the fastest, showing the transition of research trends toward the sustainable management of peatlands under climate change. The keywords used within topics tended to change dynamically when related to a large number of studies and increasing trends. Network analysis among topics suggested that studying peatlands as a response measure to climate change will promote overall peatland research because the greenhouse gases topic had the greatest impact on other topics. Despite increasing research on peatland management under climate change, a gap between academia and policies was found in the field of using peatlands as a response measure to climate change, indicating the necessity for effective policies, research, and technology. This study demonstrates that DTM and network analysis are useful tools for understanding the temporal shift of views on peatlands and finding a gap we need to focus on in the near future.

Selecting proper tree species for revegetation is important for restoring tropical peatland. Tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum L.) has been suggested one of the promising native species in Indonesia for the revegetation of tropical peatland; however, there is a lack of understanding of its growth in peat soil with different groundwater levels. We investigated the survival rate, plant height, number of leaves, root collar diameter, and dry biomass of tamanu seedlings grown in peat soil with different groundwater levels using a randomized block design in a water tank. The study involved five groundwater level treatments and 12 tree-level replicates each: M0 (non-groundwater level, control); M1 (−15 cm below the soil surface); M2 (−10 cm); M3 (−5 cm); and M4 (0 cm, soil surface level). The results showed that all tamanu seedlings survived in every treatment. However, their plant height, number of leaves, and root collar diameter growth were significantly inhibited in the highest groundwater level condition (M4, 0 cm) at 81 days after sowing, while their growth in −15 cm of groundwater level (M1) was as good as the growth in the fully drained conditions in M0 (control). This result indicates that the groundwater level should not be higher than −15 cm for the growth of tamanu. Considering that peatlands in Indonesia are assessed to be degraded when the groundwater level is lower than −40 cm, this study suggests that maintaining groundwater levels between −40 cm and −15 cm in peatland is the best condition for rapid growth of early tamanu seedlings while protecting peatlands. Further studies are needed to extend the range of water levels and water treatment duration.

The use of peatlands for plantations and industrial tree plantations is increasingly widespread and causes land degradation due to excessive drainage. Meanwhile, adaptive agricultural efforts are not yet appropriate for maintaining the peatland environment. This study aimed to assess peatland degradation in Perigi Village, Pangkalan Lampam District, Ogan Komering Ilir Regency. Data obtained were analyzed using a descriptive method, followed by an evaluation of the determination of the level of land degradation with standard criteria for land degradation in wetlands based on the Regulation of the Indonesian Minister of Environment No. 20, 2008. The observations, field measurements, and laboratory analysis showed that the three lands experienced moderate degradation. The parameters that limit and contribute to the land degradation score to a moderately degraded status are shallow groundwater depth, redox, and soil pH that exceeded the threshold value. Adaptive technology must accommodate local knowledge and can increase farmer income.

Ria RP, Lakitan B, Sulaiman F, Kartika K, Suwignyo RA. 2020. Cross-ecosystem utilizing primed seeds of upland rice varieties for enriching crop diversity at riparian wetland during dry season. Biodiversitas 21: 3008-3017. Cultivation of rice during second growing season at riparian wetlands in Indonesia must deal with drought conditions at reproductive stage. Seed priming can speed up seed emergence and produces vigorous seedlings. Objective of this study was to screen upland rice varieties which were positively responded to seed priming and tolerant to drought during late vegetative and/or reproductive stage. Results of this study indicated that osmo-priming showed positive effects on seed emergence, percentage of germinated seed, and time to reach 50% germination. Effects of osmo-priming on seedling growth did not go beyond four weeks after seedlings had been transplanted. Among nine varieties screened, Inpago 10 exhibited better response to seed priming during late vegetative stage as it produced the highest number of tillers and total leaf area. However, at harvest, osmo-priming with 20% PEG lowered filled spikelet and weight of 100 grains but did not affect yield. Drought during late vegetative stage lessened number of tillers but after drought-treated plants recovered during reproductive stage, percentage of filled spikelet and grain size were comparable to those of control plants. Meanwhile, drought imposed during reproductive stage decreased percentage of filled spikelet and grain yield. Despite its better performance under drought conditions, leaf rolling score was higher during heading stage in Inpago 10. This phenomenon indicated that leaf rolling was not forced by drought, rather it was a quick response of Inpago 10 variety to limit water loss due to transpiration.