Integrated Supervised Classification of LULC in Identifying Musang King Durian Illegal Farming Location

Abstract

Musang King Durian (MKD) is in high demand due to its unique taste and aroma; hence, some opportunistic farmers grow it on a large scale. The issue arises when some MKD is planted on encroached land in remote places, making it impossible for local authorities to locate them. This study proposes to examine the changes in land use land cover (LULC) within the Benom Permanent Forest Reserved area that were reported to have land invasion activities caused by illegal MKD plantations between 2019 and 2022 using Sentinel imagery. The objectives were to investigate the location of illicit MKD farming at Mount Benom based on the interpretation of LULC changes and Normalized Different Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis. ArcGIS and eCognition Developer software were used for data processing and analysis to identify water bodies, bare land, green areas, forests, and potential illegal MKD plantings (PIDP) areas. Between the years 2019 and 2022, it was found that there has been a significant rise in water bodies (36%), green areas (34%), and forests (19%). However, the potential illegal MKD plantation area fell by 59%, while bare land declined by 35%. These downsizing changes might occur due to illegal MKD destroyed operations executed in 2019 by the forestry department in Raub, Pahang. Keywords: illegal farming, image classification, land use land cover, supervised classification