Burn Area Detection Using Landsat 8 OLI TIRS

Fires associated with land use conversion activities such as agricultural expansion, palm and pulp plantations, peat land alteration, and industrial deforestation are significant in Indonesia (Jerrod & Alex, 2015). Fires season in 2015 is one of the worst incident in Indonesia since 1997, it made Indonesia at the second position as an emitter country, at least 22 days in September 2015, and generated more than the daily average emission of U.S. economic activity. A study from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimated that the amount of land affected by fires reaches 9.75 million hectares. It caused losses reached US$.4.861 or equivalent to IDR711 trillion or even more based on disruption of economic activities, transportation problems, and health problems. Head of Data Information and Public Relations of National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said the economic impact of smog disasters occurring in several provinces in Indonesia in 2015 could exceed 20 trillion per province. The most widespread forest fire area occurred in South Sumatra Province. BNPB released that during 2015 in South Sumatera Province has 35.008 hotspots and the burnt area is 641.964 Ha. The most affected area is in Ogan Komering Ilir Regency. Landsat 8 OLI TIRS has a 30-meter spatial resolution for each band except TIRS band and panchromatic band (USGS, 2016). TIRS band has a 100-meter spatial resolution but are resampled to 30-meter that can be used to identify burned scars area. By using SWIR bands (TM bands 5 and 7 in Landsat 5 and 7 systems) as a NBR (Normalized burn ratio) composite, can be used to detecting and mapping burnt area. TIRS algorithm which was used to detect fire will be seen red and SWIR which was used to detect water stress in vegetation and burned vegetation will be seen green, both of them will become darker when burn happened. This method modifying dNBR (pre-NBR - post-NBR) composite, which only can be used in oil palm plantations area that has same commodities, so can be used in various type of landuse especially the area that has plantation adjoin with forest area.