Estimation of vegetation cover changes using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in Mount Halimun Salak National Park, Indonesia

Abstract

The forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) sector in Indonesia is expected to contribute 60% of the greenhouse gas emission reduction. The priority location for enhancing carbon stock as the mitigation action is natural forests, such as Mount Halimun Salak National Park (MHSNP). The objectives of this research were to estimate vegetation cover changes in 2016, 2019, 2022, and to analyze the forestry programs affecting forest cover in MHSNP. This research used Landsat 8 satellite imagery. NDVI was categorized into five classes, specifically class 1 (the clouds/non-vegetation), class 2 (very low dense vegetation), class 3 (low dense vegetation), class 4 (moderately dense vegetation), and class 5 (highly dense vegetation). MHSNP vegetation cover consecutive in 2016, 2019 and 2022 is dominated by class 1 (35,94% or 31.508,45 ha), class 2 (30,86% or 27.053,73 ha), and class 5 (58,76% or 51.543,18%), respectively. In general, the large vegetation cover from 2016 to 2022 is increasing from 87.662,06 ha to 87.716,88 ha and is significantly denser. It might be caused by the success of the forestry program in MHSNP, such as increasing the rehabilitation area, tree adoptions, and restoration in collaboration with communities and companies.