Jambi is one of the provinces that has a high level of forest fires in Indonesia. Sungai Buluh Peat Protected Forest is one of the protected peat forest areas in Jambi Province which experienced severe forest and land fires in 2019. Fire severity was estimated using the NBR Index from the Sentinel-2 satellite imagery data. The results showed that fire severity in the HLG Sungai Buluh in 2019 was dominated by high-class fire severity, covering an area of 207.9 ha. The NBR Index has a good ability to estimate the severity of forest fires with a D-value of 2.816 with an accuracy rate of 91.984%. The severity of the fires that occur is linked to the groundwater level dynamics which are strongly and significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by precipitation. Fires were detected in September when groundwater levels averaged -57.66 cm and very low amounts of precipitation (17.43 mm) occurred. It is important to maintain high groundwater levels, less than 40 cm below the surface, to reduce the risk of fire and prevent future peatland degradation.
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