Mapping beje pond as fish source in a tropical peat swamp using Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS imagery

Tropical peatlands in Indonesia are severely degraded due to unsustainable logging, conversion to plantations, poor drainage, and repeated fires. Traditional communities in Central Kalimantan used to build “beje” ponds for fishing and paludikulur farming system (agrosilvo fishery) in deep peatlands area that are frequently flooded. However, hardly reached spot in peat swamp makes areas suitable for beje difficult to find. This study aims to map the location suitable for beje using Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) from Landsat 8 OLI imagery. Canopy results from the NDWI were used as a reference for field investigations at nine sites from each NDWI class. The classification test results show that NDWI is able to distinguish dry and wet areas in tropical peatlands, with a manufacturer accuracy of 83.3% and user accuracy of 84.9%. As a result, the area suitable for beje ponds development is ±9,616 ha, or 6.2% of the total area studied.