Habitat quality assessment in the Royal Belum rainforest, Malaysia using spatial analysis

¹ Faculty of Earth Science, University Malaysia Kelantan Jeli Campus, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia
² UMK-Tropical Rainforest Research Centre (UMK-Trace), 33300 Gerik, Perak
³ Institute of Environment and Development, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi Selangor
⁴ Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology, University Malaysia Kelantan Jeli Campus, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: amalnajihah@umk.edu.my

Abstract

Royal Belum rainforest contains various flora and fauna species, however, the assessment of habitat quality is still lacking. This study aims to develop the habitat quality zone in the Royal Belum rainforest. The downloaded Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS CI satellite images in the year 2020 from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) were processed using supervised classification and exported into vector data in ArcGis 10.8. Land use, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), buffer, and land structure were then analyzed. The result shows that the highest percentage and density of the land use of the Royal Belum rainforest is vegetation. Buffer zone analysis identifies the risky area for habitat in the range of 1km and 5km from the built-up area. The area within the buffer ring should be protected from building and construction to ensure habitat quality in that area can be maintained. This study will give a better understanding of land use and vegetation index assessment for future planning in the Royal Belum rainforest. Therefore, habitat quality assessment is an important tool that can help to identify areas of high-quality habitat that are crucial for the survival and reproduction of target species and to prioritize these areas for conservation and management.