Submersible Sensor to Estimate Groundwater Level in Peatlands of Jambi Province

Abstract

Peatland fires have become a serious issue in peatland management. One of the factors that influence peatland fires is the decreasing groundwater level. Therefore, there is a need to monitor the groundwater level (GWL) in real time. The data collected is GWL data derived from submersible sensor, and manual readings. The GWL found in peatlands in Tangkit Baru village experiences an increase when precipitation is increasing, in contrast to peatlands in Pematang Rahim village where the GWL still decrease although there is a quite heavy rain occurred. The t-test results on the GWL sampling comparison show a value of 0.052, more than 0.05, indicating there is no difference between the two measurements method. The comparison between submersible sensor and manual measurements is similar to each other, with a difference of around 0.1-1 cm, thus brings the important of sensors maintenance in order to provide an accurate measurement. The NDWI resulted from cloud free image may provide better result, however to relate the NDWI and GWL may need some further analysis and modelling effort.