2024 Volume 23 Issue 4 Pages 177-181
In this study, we investigated fire frequency in grassland sites dominated by Imperata cylindrica along the Balikpapan–Samarinda Road in East Kalimantan, Indonesia from July 1991 to October 1998 (7.3 years). Imperata cylindrica continued to dominate grasslands under average fire intervals of 1.2 and 1.9 years. Fires were more likely to occur during periods of low precipitation. Repeated fires removed plants taller than I. cylindrica, maintaining its dominance through an increase in sunlight exposure. However, using the history function of Google Earth, we found that almost all I. cylindrica grasslands in our study plots were lost by 2024. Between 1998 and 2024, the number of pepper plantations decreased, and land conversion to oil palm plantations and coal mining areas progressed in regions between Samarinda and Balikpapan, including the study area. These conversions fragmented the grasslands and prevented fires. Small tree species, Acacia mangium, and pyrophytic tree species that coexist with I. cylindrica growing in the fragmented grasslands may have suppressed I. cylindrica.
