Volume 9, Issue 2

June 2024

Young Members Column

Determination of Peat Thickness in North Ayer Hitam State
Forest Reserve, Muar, Johor by Using Non-DestructiveTesting (NDT) for mitigation of peatland forest fire
Muhamad Firdaurs bin Abdullah
PhD Student, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Built Environment
Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)
I’m Muhamad Firdaurs bin Abdullah, a PhD student of Faculty of Civil Engineering andBuilt Environment, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). I have completed myMaster’s degree in Civil Engineering from UTHM back in 2017. As a graduate student
researcher, the author worked under Dr. Nor Azizi Yusoff on a variety of research
assignments. I was involved in research projects headed by Dr. Azizi such as green roof
thermal performance, soil-roots reinforcement, vertical garden, compact soil extruder,silent piling technology and visiting many geotechnical project sites. Throughout mygraduated study, the author has co-authored five papers in areas of Soil Bio- and Ecoengineering.

Currently, I am working on the project for water sustainability for peatland in North Ayer Hitam State Forest Reserve Muar,Johor, Malaysia. This project is funded by National Conservation Trust Fund for Natural Resources (NCTF), under theMinistry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability. Malaysia contains about 3 million hectares peatland
which cover 8% of its total land. The depth of peat varies depending on the area. It helps to maintain water levels, acts
as a flood control and water supply system for communities as well as downstream ecosystem. The study is aimed todetermine the thickness of peat in Ayer Hitam Utara Forest Reserve, Muar, Johor by using a Non-Destructive Testing (NDT).
The survey data on peat thickness was collected at 10 sites located inside the forest. The resistivity data consisted of sixline wenner-schlumberger short arrays and were recorded in-situ using SAS 4000 ABEM Lund Imaging System, together
with a relay switching unit (Electrode Selector ES 10-64), two multiconductor cables, steel rod electrodes and jumpers.
The data, namely electrode spacing, depth of investigation, sub-surface resistivity, type of material and horizontal data
coverage was used to assess the thickness of peat. The recorded data were then processed using RES2DINV software toobtain 2-D inversion model of the sub-surface. The data were also equipped with ten models of inverse resistivity section
for all sites showed a varies thickness of peat in range between 5 to 15 m. The data obtained can be used by thegovernment and stakeholders for peatland fire prevention program to mitigate haze in Malaysia and conservation of Ayer
Hitam Utara reserve forest. The application of silent piling technology might be useful in order to sustain the waterbalance of the forest reserve by retaining huge amount of water from leaving the forest at fast rate. Thus, the preventionof peatland forest fire can be made more effectively.

Fig. 1. Resistivity line survey conducted of few locations inside North Ayer Hitam State Forest Reserve, Muar, Johor

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Volume 9, Issue 2

June 2024

Fig. 2. Output image processed using RES2DINV software to obtain 2-D inversion model of the sub-surface of peatland

Fig. 3. An expedition by UTHM team to assess depth of peat in the forest (left) and the peat sampling made using a peat
sampler during the expedition (right)

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