1 Interrelationships between hydrology and ecology in tropical peat swamps

Interrelationships between hydrology and ecology are established for the Air Hitam Laut watershed in Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The developed relational diagram predicts how modelled regional groundwater levels and flooding patterns are related to the occurrence of different vegetation types in this peatland watershed. In dry conditions when groundwater levels are deeper than 1 m below soil surface, fire risk increases. When areas susceptible to fire actually burn and both vegetation and peat disappear, the total inundated area will expand with a factor five. In wet conditions with groundwater levels of more than 1 m above soil surface for a prolonged period of time, flooding limits restoration possibilities as plant species cannot successfully regrow. In the intermediate range, rehabilitation of different plant species is promising and is related to the actual hydrological regime