Resti Salmayenti
- Email: eersal@leeds.ac.uk
- Thesis title: Degradation and Restoration of Tropical Peatlands in Indonesia
- Supervisors: Professor Dominick Spracklen, Professor Joseph Holden, Prof Andrew Baird
Profile
My PhD project is about degradation and restoration of tropical peatlands, specifically examining the impacts of these changes with an emphasis on peat fire occurrences and soil surface dynamics under varying climate anomalies. My work employs remote sensing, fieldwork, and modeling approaches to assess the impacts. I have a background in climate sciences, environmental system analyses and environmetal economics, with experiences on projects about Indonesian peatlands, climate, and environmental analysis across relevant sectors in Indonesia.
The first objective of my PhD project is to understand the behavior of fire occurrences in Indonesian peatlands, considering different drainage (canal) densities, and to compare the impacts of fire across land cover types and climate variability, particularly ENSO and IOD, during the pre-restoration period. Following the national restoration agenda initiated in late 2016, my secondary objective is to investigate how fire occurrences on peatlands differ between the pre- and post-restoration periods. Last but not least, I conducted fieldwork to examine peat soil and water table fluctuations across varying ecosystem conditions, including drainage density and restoration activities. I will utilize remote sensing, specifically InSAR, to estimate soil motion in peatlands, with field data serving as validation. The modeling framework will also enable me to estimate peat volume reductions attributable to fires under different ecosystem and climate anomalies, as well as to evaluate the effects of restoration initiatives.
Research interests
- Tropical peatlands
- Ecosystem services
- Climate change adaptation and mitigation
- Climate-related hazards risk management
- Environmental system analyses
- Environmental economics
Qualifications
- MSc in Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University and Research
- BSc in Applied Meteorology, IPB University
Research groups and institutes
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science
- River Basin Processes and Management