Peatlands changes analysis in Banjar District using three decades of Landsat imagery

Abstract

Peatlands are a multifunctional wetland ecosystem, so it is essential to know the changes in their presence. Observation of the changes in peatlands can be done in two ways, i.e., indirect and direct observation. Indirect observation can be done with remote sensing technology. This study aimed to analyze the distribution and peat land cover change from 1990 to 2020 and calculated the land’s rate changes. This research uses the maximum likelihood classification with seven classes of land cover input of agriculture, plantations, forests, bare lands, settlements, shrubs, and water bodies. The classification result covers a map of Banjar Regency peatlands covering 1990, 2000, 2009, and 2020, and then analyzes to know the land’s rate changes. The results of this research inform Banjar’s peatland area is 58,048.76 ha, which is spread over eight districts, i.e., Astambul, Beruntung Baru, Gambut, Martapura, Martapura Barat, Mataraman, Simpang Empat dan Sungai Tabuk. The land’s rate changes in 1990 and 2000; almost all of the land cover has the addition of wide each year, most of it is shrubs around 870.47 ha per year, only covering the reduction of forest land with an area of approximately 1,293.80 hectares per year. In 2000 to 2009 shows that four land covers experience and increase in area per year, namely settlements 11.71 ha, agriculture 30.69 ha, water bodies 6.76 ha and the largest oil palm plantation 1,098.5 ha. While those that experienced a reduction in area per year were bare land around 335.61 ha and shrubs around 812.11 ha. While the rate of change from 2009 to 2020 which experienced an increase in area each year was 15.19 ha of water bodies, 422,9 ha of bare land, 1,073.07 ha of oil palm plantations and around 1,508.2 ha of agriculture. While those that experienced a reduction in area per year were shrubs 3,184.2 ha, and settlement 32.76 ha. The data from these findings is crucial to the national wetlands inventory database for upcoming assessments, even though they offer valuable insights into using conservation measures in the context of wetland sustainability.