[A-CG37] Biogeochemical cycles in Land Ecosystem

[ACG37-11] Mapping Peatland Fires in Indonesia Using a Drone Equipped with an Infrared Camera

*Taishin Kameoka¹, Osamu Kozan^2,3 (1.Educational Unit for Studies on Connectivity of Hills, Humans and Oceans, Kyoto University, 2.Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 3.Research Institute for Humanity and Nature)

Keywords:Carbon Dioxide, Drone, Indonesia, Infrared Camera, Petaland fire, Remote Sensing

In this study, we created a peatland fire map using an infrared camera mounted on a drone to plot the position and scale of peatland fires to contribute to their prevention. We expect that this method offers a high potential for future activities and academic research on enhancing the detection and management of peatland fires. Fires occurring in peatlands, which store large amounts of organic matter, are of an especially serious concern. Indonesia has a substantial carbon stock, with an estimated 22.5 million hectares under peatlands and an estimated carbon storage capacity of 57.4 billion tons. Approximately 860,000 hectares of peatlands burned in 2015, resulting in the release of large amounts of soil carbon. Indonesia established the Peatland Restoration Agency in 2016 to conserve peatland areas. Large peatland fires had been difficult to occur since 2016 because of conservation activities and enough precipitation. However, it decreased the amount of rainfall in 2019 in Indonesia, frequent occurrences of peatland fires during 2019 indicate that the problem has not been solved. Peatland fires are difficult to detect visually since they persist underground. This characteristic causes serious problems in the field because it is not easy to extinguish them completely. In addition, certain fires remain undetected until they are large because they occur in remote areas that people cannot access. Therefore, drones equipped with infrared cameras can be a useful tool for detecting peatland fires.