Forest and Peatland Fire Severity Assessment at Siak Regency, Riau Province using Sentinel-2 Imagery

Abstract

Siak Regency, Riau Province is one of the most forest and land fire-prone regencies in Indonesia. Most of the fires occur in peatland areas which contributes to the transboundary haze pollution in the region. Despite limited studies, fire severity assessment is an essential step in post-fire activities to estimate ecological impacts and economic impacts and law enforcement. This study aims to estimate fire severity using Sentinel-2 imagery at Siak Regency, Riau Province. The methods applied Normalized Burn Ratio on Sentinel-2 Imagery as an identification model based on reflectance value for 2019 imagery. The study revealed that burned areas in Siak Regency could be classified into four fire severity classes: low fire severity, moderate-low fire severity, moderate-high fire severity, and high fire severity. High fire severity was found mainly at Sungai Apit and Mempura Districts.

Keywords

• Fire severity, Normalized burn ratio, Peatland, Transboundary haze.