Analysis of drought index to asses land and forest fire season in Maros Regency

Abstract

Forest and land fires occur almost every year, so they are a concern and priority in their control efforts. One of the important factors in the effort to control forest and land fires is knowing the times and locations that are prone to forest and land fires. This study aims to describe the level of drought and areas prone to forest and land fires in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi. This research was conducted in January to August 2017. The data collection was obtained from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, the Climate Change Control Center, and the Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park. The data were analyzed using the Polygon Thiessen method, the Keecth Byram Drought Index (KBDI) method, and the spatial analysis method. The results showed that extreme drought conditions in Maros Regency occurred from September to October based on observations of maximum rainfall and temperature. The forest area classified as moderate forest fire danger rating dominates the Maros Regency area, namely 73418.67 ha (45.77%). Maros Regency which is included in the area with a very high forest fire danger rating is Tompobulu and Cenrana Districts.