Changes in land use and land cover in forest areas in Bener Meriah and Aceh Tengah Districts, Indonesia

Abstract

This research aims to obtain information regarding land use and land cover (LULC) changes in forest areas in Bener Meriah and Aceh Tengah Districts in 2000-2021, especially on the loss and gain of forest areas, and conversion between land cover classes. We used Landsat 5 (TM) satellite imagery data recorded in 2000 and 2006, and Landsat 8 (OLI) satellite imagery recorded in 2014 and 2020/2021 on path/row data, namely 130/57. The classification processes of LULC included the determination of training areas, supervised classification, and accuracy assessment. The LULC in Bener Meriah and Aceh Tengah districts are dominated by primary dryland forest and secondary dryland forest 250348.45 ha (53.65%) and 103153.16 ha (22.11%), respectively; other land covers, plantation forest 45601.12 ha (9.77%) and shrubs 314722.96 ha (6.74%). However, there is a very significant increase in mixed dryland agriculture areas, from 3186.33 ha (0.68%) in 2000 to 19283.26 ha (4.13%) in 2021. Forest area management has shown a positive trend by significantly increasing in primary dryland forest areas, but there has also been a significant increase in mixed dryland agriculture areas. It is important to find solutions to prevent the spread of deforestation and maintain the sustainability and services of forest ecosystems.