UNDERSTANDING OF FIRE DISTRIBUTION IN THE SOUTH SUMATRA PEAT AREA DURING THE LAST TWO DECADES

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Peat fire is an annual catastrophic event in Indonesia, particularly in South Sumatra region during the dry season. Several previous studies have suggested that anthropogenic forces (land cover) contribute to peat fires. Analysis of the hotspots distribution on land cover types is needed to address peat fires in the futures. This study is aimed to evaluate the distribution of hotspots on the land cover type of the South Sumatra peat area during the last two decades (1997-2016). Remote sensing technique with visual image interpretation method using multitemporal satellite images is used to identify the variations of land cover in the study area. The results showed that the peat area of South Sumatra in 2013 dominated by ferns/ shrub (58%) and only about 10% covered by peat swamp forest (PSF). The largest hotspot distribution during the observation periods was spread in land cover types of Ferns/ shrub (34.808 hotspots) and Industrial Plantation (7.223 hotspots). Note that the densest hotspot located in the industrial plantation with an average of 37 hotspots/ 100 km2 / year. Meanwhile, only a small percentage of the hotspots located in PSF and occurred consistently over the last five years of observation periods. Based on results, the South Sumatra peatland is very vulnerable to burn during the dry season in the future. The government as policy maker must protect the existence of PSF and keep the ferns/ shrub from the fires and subsequent land cover changes (Industrial plantation or small holder area).