JAKARTA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is developing a groundwater monitoring system aimed at reducing the risk of forest and land fires, particularly in peatland areas.
Albertus Sulaiman, head of BRIN's Climate and Atmospheric Research Center, said the system is designed to monitor groundwater conditions in peatlands, detect changes that could indicate increased fire risks, and track carbon emissions from these areas.
"Groundwater level data can serve as an early warning system to identify when land begins to become vulnerable to fires, as declining groundwater levels cause peatlands to become drier," Sulaiman said Tuesday.
Recent BRIN research showed that peat swamp forests play an important role in regulating local rainfall, storing large amounts of carbon and maintaining water balance, making them crucial to climate resilience.
Sulaiman added that peatland management for cultivation can involve the construction of canals to regulate water levels. However, excessively low groundwater levels can dry out peatlands and increase the risk of fires. ■