Effects of climate anomaly on rainfall, groundwater depth, and soil moisture on peatlands in South Sumatra, Indonesia

Climate anomalies can cause natural disasters such as severe fires and floods on peatlands in South Sumatra. Factors that affect the natural disasters on peatlands include rainfall, groundwater level, and soil moisture. This paper aims to study the effect of the climate anomalies in 2019 and 2020 and effects of these influencing factors on peatlands in South Sumatra. The data used in this study was derived from in-situ measurement at two SESAME’s measurement stations in the study area. The results indicate that in the 2019 dry season, the rainfall was minimal, the lowest groundwater table depth was −1.14 m and the lowest soil moisture was 3.4%. In the 2020 dry season, rainfall was above the monthly average of 100 mm, the lowest groundwater level was −0.44 m, and the lowest soil moisture was 26.64%. There is also a strong correlation between soil moisture and groundwater table depth. The correlation between the two is stronger when there is less rainfall.