A spatial model of forest and land fire vulnerability level in the Dairi District, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Thoha AS, Triani H. 2021. A spatial model of forest and land fire vulnerability level in the Dairi District, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3319-3326. Fires often occur every dry season and have a significant impact on ecosystems and human activities. One of the important roles in reducing the risk of forest and land fires is the availability of updated vulnerability level maps in all vulnerable areas. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the driving factors for forest and land fires and hotspots and to obtain a spatial model of the distribution of vulnerability to forest and land fires in the Dairi District of North Sumatra Province. This study uses a composite mapping analysis method to obtain a spatial model and the distribution of vulnerable areas to forest and land fires. Six variables in the form of maps were used in building the model, including land cover, population density, distance from the road, distance from the river, and distance from the settlement. This study showed that the most important variable for vulnerability level model of forest and land fires was the distance from the settlement. This study also found that open land, the farthest distance to the road, the farthest distance to the river, the farthest distance to the settlement, and the densest population were the driving factors for increased fire activity. The spatial model of the vulnerability level to forest and land fires in Dairi District was Y = 0.022X₁ + 0.214X₂ + 0.113X₃ + 0.482X₄ + 0.169X₅. Land cover having high-very high vulnerability level belonged to open land dominated by grass. The largest areas with a high-very high forest fire vulnerability level in Dairi District were spread over Tanah Pinem Sub-district.