Profile, Level of Vulnerability and Spatial Pattern of Deforestation in Sulawesi Period of 1990 to 2018

Abstract

Deforestation is an event of loss of forest cover to another cover. Sulawesi forests have the potential to be deforested as with Sumatra and Kalimantan. This study aims to provide information on deforestation events in Sulawesi from 1990 to 2018. The data used in this study are (1) land cover in 1990, 2000, 2010; (2) Landsat 8 imagery in 2018; (3) administrative map of BIG in 2018. The methods used are (1) image classification with on-screen digitation techniques following the PPIK land cover classification guidelines, Forestry Planning Agency (2008) using ArcGIS Desktop 10.6 from ESRI; (2) overlapping maps; (3) analysis of deforestation; (4) analysis of deforestation profiles, (5) vulnerability analysis; and (6) analysis of distribution patterns of deforestation. The results showed that the profile of deforestation occurring on Sulawesi Island in the 1990–2018 observation period was dominated by profile 3-1-1 (the proportion of large forest area, the highest incidence of deforestation early stage at the beginning, at a low rate) in 13 districts. The level of vulnerability to deforestation is a non-vulnerable category (37 districts) which is directed to become a priority in handling deforestation in Sulawesi. Spatial patterns of the deforestation that occurred randomly and were scattered are dominated by shrubs, dryland agricultural activities, and small-scale plantations.