Dryland Forest Research Articles

English

The East African drylands cover about 47% of the land surface and host about 20 million people. Rural people living in the drylands are mainly pastoralists who depend on livestock for both economic and social well-being. During the dry season, pastoralists apply strategic mobility to access grazing resources efficiently. However, this strategy has experienced change and constraints due to various demographic- and climate-related challenges. Pastoral lands have been cleared for large-scale agriculture while pastoralists have shifted towards agro-pastoralism. This has eroded many dryland trees and forests leading to environmental degradation. This review discusses important indigenous trees that can be utilized in ecological restoration of drylands as well as providing ecosystem goods and services. These include trees for gums and resins (Acacia, Commiphora and Boswellia), indigenous fruit trees (IFTs) (Adansonia digitata, Tamarindus indica and Balanites aegyptiaca), trees for wood (Melia volkensii and Terminalia brownie) and fodder (Acacia tortilis and Faidherbia albida). They are not only drought-tolerant but also have minimal disruption to the ecosystem. Various dryland restoration strategies and constraints are also discussed. For successful establishment, seedling planting should be integrated with other appropriate practices such as natural regeneration, silviculture and enrichment planting for sustainable dryland management.  Key words: Ecological restoration, drylands, indigenous trees, pastoralism.

Divergent drivers determine soil bacterial β-diversity of forest and grassland ecosystems in Northwest China

The determinants of bacterial β-diversity across the large scale have been well explored, yet little is known that about how the driving factors of bacterial β-diversity differ between the forest and grassland in northwest China. Here, we comprehensively compared the biogeographic patterns and their drivers of bacterial communities in the forest and grassland. We also quantified the relative contribution of two components (replacement and nestedness components) to bacterial β-diversity. We found the significant distance-decay relationships in both two ecosystems, whereas more species turnover correlating with geographic distance was observed in forest ecosystems than grassland ecosystem, and the slope in the forest was significantly steeper than that in grassland. This suggests that bacterial diversity in forest and grassland soil exhibits distinct biogeographic and ecological patterns. More importantly, we found that soil bacterial β-diversity was mainly derived from replacement components in both two ecosystems, implying high proportion of endemic bacterial species distribute in dryland forest and grassland soil. Our results further demonstrated that environmental filtering have dominant effect on soil bacterial β-diversity in both forest and grassland. However, the relative roles of spatial processes varied between forest and grassland, where stochastic processes only have significant influence on soil bacterial β-diversity in forest but not in grassland. Among environmental factors, bacterial β-diversity and turnover components was mainly determined by water availability in grassland soil, but by soil pH in the forest soil. Taken together, our findings collectively suggest that differential ecological drivers underlie distinct biogeographic patterns of bacterial diversity in forest and grassland soil.

Changes in dryland forest cover in several sub-districts in Deli Serdang Regency

Deli Serdang Regency is located in a strategic area because it surrounds Medan City. This study aimed to analyze changes in dryland forest land cover in Deli Serdang Regency, which is located in the up stream of the Belawan Watershed and the Deli Watershed for three time periods (2009, 2014, 2019) using the Geographical Information System (GIS). The results showed that during the period of 10 years 2009-2014-2009 the forest land cover in Deli Serdang Regency decreased from 19,517.58 ha in 2009 to 19,484.93 in 2014 and to 19,426.73 ha in 2019. Dryland forest land cover in several sub-districts in Deli Serdang Regency decreased. Hence, mixgardens, open land, cultivation, and shrubs become increased. In a period of 10 years, an area of 19,426.73 ha of dryland forest cover did not change, 26.80 ha become mixed gardens, 46.02 ha become open land, 5.85 ha become cultivation, and 12.18 ha become shrubs. There were five sub-districts with reduced forest land cover, namely: Gunung Meriah, Kutalimbaru, Sibolangit, STM Hilir, STM Hulu. Meanwhile, there were two sub-districts that have not changed, namely: Sibiru-biru and Bangun Purba.

Optimization of livelihoods variations in vulnerable to climate change impacts through carbon pricing

Climate change is a threat to the environment, especially dryland ecosystems, coastal areas, and forests. People who live in the forest area and depend on the forestry sector need to get protection, especially in terms of variations in livelihood sources to not depend on the forest sector and exploitation of forest resources. One prospective livelihood option is through carbon pricing. This study aimed to analyze the role of government in terms of creating livelihoods for vulnerable communities in the face of climate change, especially through carbon pricing mechanisms. The study used a qualitative approach with the literature review and desk study. Based on research results, it is known that the government had tried to establish international cooperation for carbon pricing. At present, the partnership had been established with 2 institutions in the European Union with a carbon trade value of 5 USD/ton CO2eq. Through this mechanism, people who live around forest areas have new livelihood options that can withstand land conversion and exploitation of timber resources. Thus, the rate of climate change can be reduced, and mitigation efforts can be strengthened through the carbon trading mechanism.

DPSIR1 model approach to address land-use changes in Deli Serdang District, North Sumatera Province

Deli Serdang Regency is bordered by Medan City, Langkat, Karo, Simalungun, and Serdang Bedagai Districts, North Sumatra Province. This study aimed to analyze land-use changes during ten years period in Deli Serdang District. Land-use changes were spatially analyzed using Geographic Information System (GIS). The factors causing land-use changes, the Driving Force, Pressure, State, Impact and Response (DPSIR) models were used. The results showed that within an interval of ten years (2009-2019) there were land-use changes in Deli Serdang. The area of land use had increased, including: Mangrove forest (4,589.56 ha to 5,645.23 ha), industry (2,470.52 ha to 3,316.39 ha), open land (361.11 ha to 1,451.04 ha), Plantation (80,649.32 ha to 88,411.56 ha), settlement (21,596.50 ha to 23,581.43 ha) and shrubs (2,332.16 ha to 3,013.33 ha). The area of land use that were reduced include dryland forests, mixed gardens, cultivation, paddy fields and ponds. The increasing open land and industry, the reduction in the vegetation area, especially forests, are the important issues in climate change because forests acts as carbon absorber. Based on the DPSIR analysis, population increase is a trigger factor for land–use changes in Deli Serdang Regency.

A rapid assessment of waterbirds and the mangrove status in the Menabe Antimena Protected Area, Madagascar

Mangroves are of great ecological importance that provide multiple ecosystem services, shelter, and habitat for many threatened waterbird species. The mangroves of the Menabe Antimena Protected Area (MANAP) in western Madagascar are among the most extensive remaining on the island. The remaining dryland forests of the MANAP have been subjected to immense deforestation in recent years. Although remote sensing studies indicate that the mangrove forest loss is considerably lower than the dryland forest loss, little is known about the mangroves’ degradation status. Furthermore, detailed information on bird diversity and numbers is scattered, and previous surveys focused on northern parts of the MANAP, recently designated as the Wetlands of the Tsiribihina RAMSAR site. This study aims to assess bird diversity and abundance, as well as the status of mangroves in the MANAP. We conducted a rapid survey using direct observations at three sites along the coastal regions of the MANAP from 24 Sep–2 Oct 2019. We recorded 71 species of birds in the mangroves and coastal wetlands. High numbers of individuals were counted for several species. Numbers of the Madagascar Plover Charadrius thoracicus and the Madagascar Teal Anas bernieri fulfill criteria for important bird areas at single survey sites and the site is likely to be of importance for Madagascar Sacred Ibis Threskiornis bernieri; these three species are all globally threatened. Mangrove degradation is still limited, but numerous threats to mangroves are present. Our results highlight the importance of the mangroves of the MANAP for several endemic bird species in Madagascar. We provide recommendations for conservation management and future research.

Remotely Sensed Phenology Monitoring and Land-cover Classification for the Localization of the Endemic Argan Tree in the Southern-west of Morocco

ABSTRACT Argania spinosa also known as the argan tree is an endemic plant of Morocco. Despite having the ability to subsist in extreme drought conditions, it is threatened by soil land clearing, overexploitation, and absence of natural regeneration, causing a worrying decline in both spatial extent and density. The spatial extent of dryland forests is debated, as estimates of forest areas in drylands are uncertain. The present study aims to map and locate the spatial distribution of the argan trees at Smimou community located in Essaouira province, south-eastern Morocco, using satellite images and a double-classification process to overcome separability problems. The work focuses on the characterization and comparison of the unique phenological patterns of argan with the other present land-cover classes. NDVI products were derived from a Sentinel-2 time-series covering one year (2018 to 2019), then ground samples were used to extract phenological profiles at parcel level then at tree level, to feed representative calibration samples to Support Vector Machine classifier. The outcome was integrated with an elevation model in a Decision Tree to reclassify mixed areas. The results indicated an F1-score and an overall accuracy of 91.27% and 92.60% respectively, a promising technique for updating argan extent at national scale.

A combination of climate, tree diversity and local human disturbance determine the stability of dry Afromontane forests

BackgroundAnthropogenic disturbances are increasingly affecting the vitality of tropical dry forests. The future condition of this important biome will depend on its capability to resist and recover from these disturbances. So far, the temporal stability of dryland forests is rarely studied, even though identifying the important factors associated with the stability of the dryland forests could serve as a basis for forest management and restoration.MethodologyIn a degraded dry Afromontane forest in northern Ethiopia, we explored remote sensing derived indicators of forest stability, using MODIS satellite derived NDVI time series from 2001 to 2018. Resilience and resistance were measured using the anomalies (remainders) after time series decomposition into seasonality, trend and remainder components. Growth stability was calculated using the integral of the undecomposed NDVI data. These NDVI derived stability indicators were then related to environmental factors of climate, topography, soil, tree species diversity, and local human disturbance, obtained from a systematic grid of field inventory plots, using boosted regression trees in R.ResultsResilience and resistance were adequately predicted by these factors with an R2 of 0.67 and 0.48, respectively, but the model for growth stability was weaker. Precipitation of the wettest month, distance from settlements and slope were the most important factors associated with resilience, explaining 51% of the effect. Altitude, temperature seasonality and humus accumulation were the significant factors associated with the resistance of the forest, explaining 61% of the overall effect. A positive effect of tree diversity on resilience was also important, except that the impact of species evenness declined above a threshold value of 0.70, indicating that perfect evenness reduced the resilience of the forest. Precipitation of the wettest month was the most important factor explaining 43.52% of the growth stability variation.ConclusionA combination of climate, topographic factors and local human disturbance controlled the stability of the dry forest. Also tree diversity is an important stability component that should be considered in the management and restoration programs of such degraded forests. If local disturbances are alleviated the recovery time of dryland forests could be shortened, which is vital to maintain the ecosystem services these forests provide to local communities and global climate change.

Acacia Dominated Area Exclosures Enhance the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Degraded Dryland Forest Ecosystems

Acacia Dominated Area Exclosures Enhance the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Degraded Dryland Forest Ecosystems

CHANGES IN LAND COVER OF THE MOUNT SIRIMAU PROTECTED GROUP, AMBON CITY MALUKU PROVINCE

Changes in land cover will always occur in forest areas either naturally or due to human intervention, changes for the better or damage. The Protected Forest Group Mount Sirimauis part of the Ambon City Protected Forest which was established in 1996, but there are still changes in land cover. The purpose of this study was to determine changes in the land cover before and after the establishment of the Protected Forest Group Mount Sirimau. The research method used is a descriptive research method that explains the results of the map overlay of land cover changes. Changes in the land cover before designation as protected forest (1990-1996) contained 4 (four) land cover classes of Primary Dryland Forest, Secondary Dryland Forest, Shrub Bush, and Shrub Dryland Agriculture. There are 7 (seven) land cover changes after designation as protected forest (2000-2019), namely Primary Dryland Forest, Secondary Dryland Forest, Shrub Bush, Savana, Dryland Agriculture Mixed with Shrubs, Dryland Agriculture and Settlements. Changes in land cover are strongly influenced by social, economic, cultural and political factors, so there must be synergy from the bottom up and top down for socialization and affirmation of forest functions and their use by applicable regulation.The nearby study analyses the solid waste management in Tamil Nadu. Solid waste comprised all the wastes arising from human and animal activities that are normally solid and that are discarded useless or unwanted. The increasing difficulty in managing wastes in different states in Tamil Nadu. On the basis of the results, it was recommended to increase public awareness through enlightenment campaign against danger of indiscriminate dumping of wastes as they affect human health.

Kondisi Biofisik Serta Gangguan Terhadap Hutan Pada Areal Buffer Zone Bantaran Sungai Apo Distrik Jayapura Utara

APO river has a length of 3 kilometers with a width of 7 meters and flows from headwaters in the village Angkasa Pura to empty into the sea which is administered into the village administration area Bhayangkara. The purpose of this study to (1) identify the biophysical conditions in the area of the buffer zone of the river sepantaran Apo. (2) Identifying the form of land use in the bufferzone area of the Apo River from downstream to upstream. (3) Provide management recommendations in the form of land suitability directions to carry out Forest and Land Rehabilitation activities in the bufferzone area of the Apo river. Descriptive method with map interpretation and consists of several stages that include the preparation stage, the stage of processing and preliminary processing of data, field checking stage, the stage of data analysis, and recommendations on the implementation of Forest and Land Rehabilitation activities in the area of the river BufferZone Apo. Biophysical conditions of the area BufferZone river Apo has the characteristics of land cover types that include dry forest primary dry forest secondary, dryland farming mixed with shrubs, bushes, settlements, soil types litosol, with altitude ranging from 0 m asl - 690m above sea level . BufferZone slope in the area of very varied ranging from flat to very steep.In accordance with the decline in the quality of primary dryland forest to secondary dryland forest covering 22.04 hectares in 2009-2018 and activities that resulted in the removal of 44.80 hectares of secondary forest in 2000-2009, the large changes in the nature of both deforestation and degradation of from 2000 to 2018 thus covering an area of 66.84 hectares or 18.94% of the total research area, namely the Apo river bufferzone. Most of the areas that are categorized as quite suitable are forest areas that are experiencing deforestation and degradation and the recommended land is suitable enough to carry out RHL activities in the bufferzone area of the Apo River, only covering an area of 91.05 hectares or 25.80% of the bufferzone area. Apo river.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Community in Roots and Nitrogen Uptake Patterns of Understory Trees Beneath Ectomycorrhizal and Non-ectomycorrhizal Overstory Trees.

Nitrogen (N) is an essential plant nutrient, and plants can take up N from several sources, including via mycorrhizal fungal associations. The N uptake patterns of understory plants may vary beneath different types of overstory trees, especially through the difference in their type of mycorrhizal association (arbuscular mycorrhizal, AM; or ectomycorrhizal, ECM), because soil mycorrhizal community and N availability differ beneath AM (non-ECM) and ECM overstory trees (e.g., relatively low nitrate content beneath ECM overstory trees). To test this hypothesis, we examined six co-existing AM-symbiotic understory tree species common beneath both AM-symbiotic black locust (non-ECM) and ECM-symbiotic oak trees of dryland forests in China. We measured AM fungal community composition of roots and natural abundance stable isotopic composition of N (δ15N) in plant leaves, roots, and soils. The root mycorrhizal community composition of understory trees did not significantly differ between beneath non-ECM and ECM overstory trees, although some OTUs more frequently appeared beneath non-ECM trees. Understory trees beneath non-ECM overstory trees had similar δ15N values in leaves and soil nitrate, suggesting that they took up most of their nitrogen as nitrate. Beneath ECM overstory trees, understory trees had consistently lower leaf than root δ15N, suggesting they depended on mycorrhizal fungi for N acquisition since mycorrhizal fungi transfer isotopically light N to host plants. Additionally, leaf N concentrations in the understory trees were lower beneath ECM than the non-ECM overstory trees. Our results show that, without large differences in root mycorrhizal community, the N uptake patterns of understory trees vary between beneath different overstory trees.

Habitat Characteristic of Softshell Turtle (Amyda cartilaginea Boddaert,1770) in Engkelitau River Sekadau Regency, West Borneo

Information about the character of softshell turtle’s habitat (Amyda cartilaginea) is needed as conservation effort and to prevent softshell turtle’s extinction. The research on habitat, morphometric holes, and environmental factors that suitable for softshell turtle is needed to be approved. The research was conducted in Engkelitau River, Sekadau, West Borneo. Sampling area was divided into 3 stations based on the type of cover between primary dryland forest, farming land and open field. Data on the softshell turtle’s number, holes and scratch marks were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA). The highest river slope at Station I is 60o and the lowest river slope at Station III is 42o. Substrate’s type that found in Engkelitau River consist of sandy, dusty, and muddy substrates. The number of softshell turtle’s hole in the Engkelitau River is 45 holes, consisting one hole with softshell turtle, 15 holes with scratch marks, and 29 holes not including both of them. The highest height, width and distance between holes are in Station I and both hole’s length and height from the surface as well as highest river are in Station II. The environmental factors that affected A. cartilaginea in the Engkelitau River consisted of river velocity and river’s slope with loading factors of 4.08135 and 3.94019 respectively. The characteristics of A. cartilaginea’s hole in the Engkelitau River including a pond in the hole, an air hole, and located in the middle of a riverbank. Keywords: habitat characteristics, Amyda cartilaginea, softshell turtle, Engkelitau river.

A Review of Land Use Land Cover Change in The Catchment Area of Musi Hydropower Plant in Bengkulu Province

This research was conducted to review land use land cover change in the catchment area of Musi Hydropower Plant in Bengkulu Province. The data used in this research is land use land cover map year 2000 to 2018 from Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. The analyse was done by overlaying time series map of land use land cover map from 2000 to 2018 on the map of forest area. The result shows that primary dryland forest degradated significantly, around 568 ha less than 20 years. In the other side, settlements and built-up area significantly increase, 1.331 ha in 20 years. Meanwhile, the land use of agricultural dry land mixed with shrubs, in agregat decreased by 1.078 ha. The area of agricultural dry land mixed with shrubs was increase during period of 2000 to 2014, and then slightly decrease in the period of 2014 to 2018. Land use changes on the catchment area have negative impact on the quality of environmental services, such as erosion and sedimentation on the reservoir of Musi Hydropower Plant. Intervention needed to reduce the negative impact of the land use change on ecosystem services.

Consequences of terminating mangrove’s protection in Brazil

The Brazilian government agenda for downgrading and degazettement of protected ecosystems has seen an unprecedented move with the revocation of the mangrove’s protection act in the country. As the second largest country in mangrove extent, with over 11,000 km2 of forests that have been conserved for decades, mangroves may now be open for unsustainable economic development. Shrimp aquaculture and urban development are likely the highest threats to mangrove forests in Brazil. When built over mangrove land, shrimp ponds release greenhouse gases at a rate up to 10-fold larger than cattle pasture conversion on dryland forests. In a scenario of low rates of mangrove loss of 0.1% per year (2-fold current rates), emissions from land use would be close to 1.6 Tg CO2e per year, which is equivalent to 0.01% of emissions from deforestation in the Amazon over an area 1500 times smaller. Urban development and removal of mangroves to human infrastructure also have strong negative effects on pollutant retention, which could further decrease water quality and increase coastal vulnerability near urban centers. The loss of mangroves have also expected negative effects on food provision, which allied to other key ecosystem services provided by mangroves, will be key to a sustainable ocean under a changing climate during the next century.

Sifat Fisik Tanah Pada Lahan Agroforestri dan Hutan Lahan Kering Sekunder di Sub Das Wuno, Das Palu

Perubahan penggunaan lahan memiliki dampak terhadap sifat fisik tanah maupun proses hidrologi daerah aliran sungai. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membandingkan sifat fisik tanah pada penggunaan lahan agroforestri dan hutan lahan kering sekunder di Sub-DAS Wuno, Kabupaten Sigi. Metode penelitian menggunakan metode survei dilanjutkan dengan pengambilan sampel untuk bahan analisis di Laboratorium. Analisis tanah dilakukan di Laboratorium Ilmu Tanah, Fakultas Pertanian, Universitas Tadulako. Penentuan lokasi pengambilan sampel tanah ditentukan secara sengaja untuk mendapatkan 6 titik sampel. Pengambilan sampel tanah dilakukan 3 kali untuk setiap penggunaan lahan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tekstur tanah pada lahan agroforestri memiliki fraksi pasir 79,8%, kemudian fraksi debu 19,1%, dan fraksi liat 1,1%, sedangkan hutan lahan kering sekunder memiliki fraksi pasir 62%, fraksi debu 37,2%, dan fraksi liat 0,8%. Permeabilitas tertinggi pada kedalaman 0-20 cm ditemukan di lahan agroforestri 10,44 cm/jam, dan terendah di hutan lahan kering sekunder adalah 2,29 cm/jam. Bobot isi pada lahan agroforestri adalah 1,41 g/cm3, hutan lahan kering sekunder adalah 1,64 g/cm3. Porositas tanah lahan agroforestri adalah 40,85%, sedangkan hutan lahan kering sekunder adalah 22,90%. Bahan organik tanah pada lahan agroforestri adalah 4,23%, sedangkan hutan lahan kering sekunder adalah 3,81%. Tidak terdapat perbedaan yang cukup siginfikan terhadap parameter sifat fisik tanah diantara kedua penggunaan lahan baik pada tekstur tanah, bobot isi, dan bahan organik, namun demkian nilai porositas tanah dan permeabilitas pada lahan agroforestri lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan hutan lahan kering sekunder.

Impact Study of Community’s Nursery Program on Land Cover Change in Jembrana Regency, Bali

One of the priority activities in Forest and Land Rehabilitation (FLR) program conducted by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry since 2010 is People’s Nursery Program/Kebun Bibit Rakyat (KBR). Jembrana Regency as one of the districts that participated in this program is an area with a diverse physical conditions and represents each watershed zone consisting of upstream, middle, and downstream, so it becomes interesting to study. This study aims to describe the KBR program in terms of changes in land use at the KBR location. The method used in this research was a qualitative descriptive approach referring to data on changes in land cover in 2009, 2013, and 2016 as an analysis material that represents the year before the program, the year when the program began, and the year when the program was harvested. The results of the study showed that there was a change in land cover at the locations during the implementation of the KBR program in Jembrana Regency, namely an increase in dry land forest area of 44.2 ha and mixed gardens of 252.5 ha. This shows that the KBR program has contributed to the RHL program in terms of increasing the area of vegetation and has involved the community in its implementation.

Differences in stakeholder perceptions about native forest: implications for developing a restoration program

Ecological restoration is a global priority. Incorporating stakeholders' perceptions has been established as a critical factor to improve the success of restoration and conservation initiatives and decrease future social conflicts; however, it has barely been incorporated. Our objective was to analyze and compare the differences in the perceptions of Chilean dryland forest restoration of three groups: local community, experts, and government managers. We asked about: (1) what is the knowledge, importance, and uses that they have and give to the native forest and its restoration? (2) What is the willingness to restore the native forest? (3) What are the most valuable goods and services provided by the forest? (4) Where to begin to restore? (5) What criteria must be considered to prioritize areas to restore? To determine if the criteria selected were related to the stakeholder group, a semi‐parametric multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with 61 stakeholders. The community gave greater importance to restoring the ravines and creeks, the experts to restoring areas that increase landscape connectivity, and both experts and government managers to restoring areas of greater biodiversity and ecological value. The experts gave a lower value to both social and economic criteria compared to the local community and government managers. The differences among stakeholder perceptions must necessarily be considered in the restoration programs. Research on perceptions can contribute to decision‐making and will favor the social approval and long‐term success of restoration programs.

Strategic expansion of existing forest monitoring plots: a case study using a stratified GIS-based modelling approach

Background: Understanding the relationship between sites and the plant species they support is essential for effective vegetation management. Site-species matching requires knowledge of the growth response of a given species to the full range of environmental conditions in potential planting sites. This can be achieved by repeatedly measuring species growth at a comprehensive network of sample plots that cover a range of environmental conditions, including topography, climate, and soil factors. The New Zealand Dryland Forests Initiative has established permanent sample plots (PSPs) of a plantation species, Eucalyptus bosistoana F.Muell., across New Zealand. However, these PSPs do not cover the entire range of environmental conditions available for the species and hence there is a need to expand the network of sites. The aim of this study was to determine optimal locations for new PSPs to provide more unique information to support site-species matching studies for Eucalyptus bosistoana in New Zealand.Methods: A geographic information system (GIS) and stratified random sampling method were used to generate a model to identify optimal locations for E. bosistoana PSP establishment. The variables used in this study included topography, climate, and soil data. Redundancy between the initial set of potential explanatory variables was reduced by a multi-collinearity analysis. The potential habitat for the species was restricted to land with environmental conditions that could support E. bosistoana. All environmental variables were stratified and an initial priority index for each stratum in each variable was calculated. Then a weighted-overlay analysis was conducted to create the final priority index, which was mapped to identify high-priority areas for targeted PSP expansion.Results: The existing PSP network for E. bosistoana generally covers the environmental conditions in low-elevation New Zealand dry lands, which are located alongside the east coast of the South Island, and the southern part of the North Island. The model identified high priority areas for PSP expansion, including several large regions in the North Island, especially in Rangitikei and Taupo Districts.Conclusions: The model successfully allowed identification of areas for a strategic expansion of permanent sample plots for E. bosistoana. Newly identified areas expand upon the topographic, climatic, and soil conditions represented by the existing PSP network. The new area for PSP expansion has potential to provide valuable information for further site-species matching studies. The methodology in this paper has potential to be used for other plot networks of a different species, or even natural forests.

PEMANFAATAN CITRA LANDSAT 8 OPERATIONAL LAND IMAGER (OLI) UNTUK KLASIFIKASI TUTUPAN LAHAN DI TAMAN NASIONAL GUNUNG MERBABU

Gunung Merbabu National Park (TNGMb) is a conservation area with a high level of biodiversity. Information on land cover is very important in making ecological management policies in conservation areas. Proven Remote Sensing technology produces precise information on land cover in a time and cost-effective manner. This study uses Landsat 8 imagery in TNGMb land cover classification process. Maximum Likelihood approach is used because it uses a probability calculation basis. A configuration matrix table between training data and reference data is made to test the accuracy of land cover classification. Reference data refers to Google Earth Pro high-resolution imagery. Results showed that the most extensive land cover type was secondary dryland forest with total of 23393 pixels classified as equivalent to 2113.54 hectares (34.5% of the total classification area. The open area, built-up area, and rice field/vegetable garden each have an area of ​​12.08 Ha; 11.02 Ha; and 170.96 Ha, of which part of the area is in enclaved areas within the TNGMb area. The accuracy test shows the Kappa Coefficient of 86.25%, User's Accuracy Average, Ground Truth Average, and Overall Accuracy respectively 89.62%; 85.42%; and 88.33%. Overall Accuracy shows that 88.33% of the total pixels represent each classification correctly.