Analysis of land cover changes case in the Batang Toru landscape

Abstract

Land cover and land use changes have impacted nearly every form of life on Earth. Batang Toru landscape dominated as a protected area has been experiencing environmental problems due to human activities. The purpose of this study is to analyze land cover changes and land function in Batang Toru Landscape, North Sumatra from 2014 to 2020. We evaluated the changes by using overlay and spatial analysis using the software ArcMap 10.4 and QGIS Las Palmas version. The results of this study showed that during 2014-2020, Batang Toru Landscape covers and functions significantly changed. The areas that experienced the increasing number were agriculture dryland mixed with shrub areas 24,581.70 ha (9.86%), secondary dryland forests 14,439.60 ha (5.80%), paddy areas 3,523.95 ha (1.39%), open areas 1,117.35 ha (0.44%), and industrial forest plantation 429.75 ha (0.18%). Meanwhile, the decreasing areas were dryland agriculture 24,925.49 ha (10.02%), shrubs 17,361.90 ha (6.97%), and primary dryland forest 1,804.95 ha (0.72%). This study can be used as a consideration for the government in managing the landscape to combat the serious environmental problems in Batang Toru.