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

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.