Modeling Land Use and Land Cover Changes and Their Effects on Biodiversity in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Roshan Sharma,Himlal Baral,Maximilian Meyer,Udo Nehren,Gilang Aria Seta,Bhagawat Rimal,Syed Rahman

doi:10.3390/land7020057

Abstract

Land use and land cover (LULC) change causes biodiversity decline through loss, alteration, and fragmentation of habitats. There are uncertainties on how LULC will change in the future and the effect of such change on biodiversity. In this paper we applied the Land Change Modeler (LCM) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) Scenario Generator tool to develop three spatially explicit LULC future scenarios from 2015 to 2030 in the Pulang Pisau district of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The district is experiencing a rapid loss of biodiversity as a result of unprecedented LULC changes. Further, we used the InVEST Habitat Quality model to map habitat quality as a proxy to biodiversity in each of the scenarios. We find habitat quality decline is largest in a scenario where past trends of LULC change continue, followed by a scenario with planned agricultural expansion. Alternately, a conservation-oriented scenario results in significant improvements in habitat quality for biodiversity. This information can support in developing appropriate land use policy for biodiversity conservation in Indonesia.

Highlights

Human societies have been built on using biodiversity and value biodiversity for its intrinsic worth and its contribution toward the production of various ecosystem goods and services (ESs) that contribute to human well-being [1,2]
Land Change Modeler (LCM) and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) Scenario Generator were used to model Land use and land cover (LULC), while the InVEST Habitat Quality tool was used to determine the effects on biodiversity
The study demonstrated that the trend of LULC change in the district will continue to be exacerbated in the BAU scenario, resulting in a higher loss of habitat quality for biodiversity

Summary

Introduction

Human societies have been built on using biodiversity and value biodiversity for its intrinsic worth and its contribution toward the production of various ecosystem goods and services (ESs) that contribute to human well-being [1,2]. Biodiversity stabilizes the delivery of ecosystem services through time [3,4]. Many activities crucial for subsistence living have led to biodiversity loss [2,5]. Among these activities is the human-induced land use and land cover (LULC) change that causes biodiversity decline through the loss, alteration, and fragmentation of habitats [6,7]. Land use has been identified as the leading driver of global biodiversity change by the year 2100 [8]

Methods

Results

Conclusion