Study on the impact of canal blocking on groundwater fluctuation for tropical peatland restoration

Peatland fires occur almost every year in Indonesia that might be caused by over-drained peatland due to canalization for a certain purpose. Canalization in the peatland leads to a significant decreasing change of groundwater level that might cause peatland very vulnerable against fire. The rewetting approach by the Peatland Restorations Agency of Indonesia using canal blocking is expected to keep groundwater level high so that the peatland is maintained in an always wet condition. Therefore, it is important to study the impact of canal blocking on the fluctuation of groundwater level in peatland ecosystems. This study was carried out at a research site which is located in Pulau Tebing Tinggi peatland hydrological unit, Kepulauan Meranti Regency, Riau, Indonesia. Groundwater level fluctuation as the impact of canal blocking was monitored using eight dipwells that were set with a distance of 1 m, 51 m, 101 m, and 201 m from the canal for each transect of the three transects. The result of this study showed that the canal blocking has a good impact for keeping groundwater level and keeping peatland on an always wet condition for peatland restoration and peat fire prevention until 400 m distance to the upstream area from canal block and about 1 m distance perpendicular to the canal. The canal blockings will have a good impact on rewetting at the peatland area up to 201 m distance perpendicular to the canal if the rise of water level at the canal is more than 0.6 m for peatland restoration.