Land Covers to Increase Infiltration in Sub-Watershed Mengkaok in South Kalimantan Province

Land cover is a natural resource, which is a component of watershed ecosystem possessing an important role to infiltration and runoff. The objective of this study was to find out the infiltration conditions on various land covers in Sub-watershed Mengkaok in South Kalimantan Province. The determination of the infiltration was carried out using double ring infiltrometer while the analysis of the rate, the capacity and the volume of the infiltration were conducted using the Horton model. The results showed that: a) the very low density land cover of secondary forestor old garden dominated the Mengkaok sub-watershed area of 11716.88 ha; b) the highest infiltration capacity was 113.29 mm/h and the highest infiltration volume 125.70 mm3, on the high density forest cover while the lowest infiltration capacity was 30.58 mm and the lowest infiltration volume 42.40 mm3, on the shrub land cover; c) the infiltration classification criteria in Sub-watershed Mengkaok were moderate fast (65-125 mm/h) and moderate (20-65 mm/h); d) based on the conditions of the land covers and the infiltration, it is necessary to take some efforts to increase the density of forest cover in Sub-watershed Mengkaok for the water resource conservation expected to increase infiltration, reduce runoff, and normalize water discharge fluctuation, which in turn can increase the land productivity and improve the community welfare.