Mapping Above-Ground Carbon Stock of Secondary Peat Swamp Forest Using Forest Canopy Density Model Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS: A Case Study in Central Kalimantan Indonesia

Abstract

Mapping the above-ground carbon potential by using a non-destructive method has been a serious challenge for researchers in the effort to improve the performance of natural forest management in Indonesia, particularly in the ex-Mega Rice Project (MRP) area in Central Kalimantan Province. Nevertheless, the rapid and dynamic changes in secondary peat swamp forests are currently mapped effectively with the remote sensing technology using the Forest Canopy Density (FCD) model. FCD analysis as done by integrating vegetation index, soil index, temperature index and shadow index of Landsat 8 OLI images. The result was an FCD class map. In each class, parameter measurements were established for seedling, sapling, poles and tree stages. Above-ground carbon stock was calculated using three allometric equations. The results revealed that the values of carbon stock in ±16,147.26 ha dense secondary peat swamp forest, ±1,509.66 ha moderately dense scrub swamp forest, and ±632.07 ha sparse scrub swamp forest were, respectively, 79.28-122.96; 74.06-113.06; and 40.48-63.60 ton/ha. These results show that FCD application could be used to classify forest density effectively and in line with the variety of their attributes such us aboveground biomass and carbon stock potential.