Deforestation of Gunung Sebatung protected forests using geographic information system in Kotabaru District, South Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

Abstract

The protected forest of Gunung  Sebatung is located on Laut Island, one of the small islands in the province of South Kalimantan. Surrounding protected forests there are 14 villages and Kotabaru district centers  city centers in Kotabaru district. They carry out cultivation activities in the area claimed to be hereditary activities to meet daily needs, so that they cannot be stopped. The problem that has occurred to date is deforestation in the form of increasing land tenure and illegal logging, so that the function of forests as a buffer of life does not function optimally. The purpose of this study was to estimate the amount of deforestation in protected forests of Gunung Sebatung. The research method used is remote sensing of SPOT satellite in 2010 and 2018 and field survey using transect method. The results of this study indicate that the protected forests of Gunung Sebatung from an area of ​​7,561.95 ha, around 4,900.47 ha (of 64.8%) are still in the form of secondary natural forests whose species composition describes the characteristics of Kalimantan’s tropical rainforest, and the remaining around 2,661.5 ha (of 35.2%) have changed their land cover for agricultural cultivation and mixed gardens. In 2010 the measured forest area was 5,759.46 ha and in 2018 measured 4,900.47 ha, resulting in deforestation covering 858.99 ha or 1.86% per year. The floristic composition found was from Dipterocarpaceae family, namely: Shorea montigena, Shorea leprosula, Shorea multiflora, Dipterocarpus spp and Non Dipterocarpaceae such as Eusideroxylon zwagery, Vitex pubescens and other natural species. There are still quite a lot of trees > 50 cm in diameter.