Short Communication: Assessing the relationship of Sumatran elephant’s movement (Elephas maximus sumatranus) with vegetation intensity in Kotaagung Utara, Lampung Province, Indonesia using NDVI method

Abstract

Abstract. Bakri S, Monik DT, Setiawan A, Winarno GD. 2022. Short Communication: Assessing the relationship of Sumatran elephant’s movement (Elephas maximus sumatranus) with vegetation intensity in Kotaagung Utara, Lampung Province, Indonesia using NDVI method. Biodiversitas 23: 1920-1928. The Indonesian Elephant Conservation Forum stated that the population of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) had decreased dramatically up to 70% in the last 20-30 years due to illegal hunting, land conversion, and encroachment, so the availability of elephant food in the wild is gradually inadequate. With the decline of the elephant population in Indonesia, several parties such as the government, NGO, and the public are beginning to monitor the Sumatran elephant. The monitoring is carried out by observing and studying the movements of elephants using a GPS Collar. The research aims to find out the consistency of elephant movement and its relationship to the availability of feed as indicated by the intensity of vegetation in KPH Kotaagung Utara, Lampung Province, Indonesia. This research used GIS technology (Correlation Citra Landsat 8 OLI and BIG Demnas Data), elephant movement data using GPS Collar in 2020, and land use data by BPKH Lampung. The results showed that the monthly movement pattern of elephants in 2020 was consistently monitored. From January-July, elephants are in the North area, while in August-December are in the South. The intensity of elephant movement in the Mixed Shrub Dryland Agriculture area is higher than in the other areas, at 107 points or about 90% of all the areas in KPH Kotaagung Utara. Meanwhile, in the Dryland and Shrub Agriculture areas, there are 6 points each, or about 5% of all the areas. The vegetation classification in KPH Kotaagung Utara is dense with an NDVI value range of 0.63-0.85. Furthermore, the regression results prove that NDVI and the monthly season affect the movement of elephants with a p-value of <0.001.

On the elephant trails: habitat suitability and connectivity for Asian elephants in eastern Indian landscape

“…In our study, NDVI was positively correlated with Asian elephant habitat use, indicating a preference for diverse and abundant vegetation. Similar preferences where Asian elephants consistently select dense vegetation with different phenology were reported in the Asian elephant’s range ( Thapa, Kelly & Pradhan, 2019 ; Bakri, Setiawan & Winarno, 2022 ; Amorntiyangkul et al, 2022 ). Several studies reported that elephants favour nutrient-rich lowland forest settings, including riparian forests and mountain valleys ( Hedges et al, 2005 ; Pradhan & Wegge, 2007 ; Rood, Ganie & Nijman, 2010 ).…”

Tourist Interests as a Basis for Post-Covid-19 Pandemic Tourism Visit Recovery Planning: Studies in the Ecotourism Area of Way Kambas National Park, Lampung Province

“…According [19] that women's interest is generally lower than men in tourist objects or interests that contain a risk of danger as shown by [20] that WKPN which has one of its advantages in the form of elephant ride interests at elephant training centers or also the interest of elephant riding around the border perimeter around to drive wild elephants back into the forest area. As a wild animal, the elephant is nocturnal animal that normally attack against human or anything else that disturbe the animal [21] According to [22] the gender bias against wild animals often occurs when women are behind men because women are generally less adaptable to violence which risks weak physical defense. On the contrary, our finding shows that men's interests are not significantly different from women's.…”

“…In line with this finding, [14] reported that there are as many as 19% the visitors to WKPN are the civil servant employees. This fact shows that for the domestic visitor segment, this group needs to be the target of various promotions and other strategic planning so that the people of the WKPN buffer-zone area can increase their income and simultaneously reduce forest encroachment [20,21,22].…”

“…the people in the its buffer zone, which at the same time can reduce deforestation [ 21,22] as well.…”

Variation of weekly home range characteristics of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in Bentang Seblat, Bengkulu Province, Indonesia

“…This is in accordance with Moßbrucker et al (2016), who stated that home range sizes varied between locations, individuals, seasons, and habitat conditions (availability of food, water, and human activity). The availability of optimal resources in a habitat will make the Sumatran elephant not have to move too far to find and water sources (Bakri et al 2022). These conditions will form a narrower and smaller home range area.…”