The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve REDD Project

Stratification by Landcover TypeMapped land cover classes represent vegetation type (e.g. peatswamp forest, kerangas forest, peat shrubland) and level ofanthropogenic disturbance in peat swamp forest (e.g. lightlydegraded, highly degraded), both of which are expected to affectcarbon stocks in aboveground biomass. Landcover classificationand mapping for Rimba Raya was conducted to improve regionallandcover maps by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. Methodsand results are briefly described below and detailed in theLandcover Assessment Report (Annex 2).Land cover mapping was accomplished following a two-­‐partapproach including automated image classification followed bymanual image interpretation in GIS. In the first phase, pixel-­‐basedimage classification was conducted to make use of spectralinformation in Landsat7 ETM+ bands that are sensitive tovegetation. The results of this classification provided importantverification of broad land cover types such as forest and no-­forestvegetative cover and bare soil. In the second phase, landcover was interpreted and digitized using classified and originalLandsat data in a GIS. Interpretation was therefore able toincorporate key ancillary data including aerial photos, surveydata and other GIS data compiled for Rimba Raya, whichimproved the classification.Results of landcover classification (Table 2 and Figure 11) showthat the Carbon Accounting Area is predominated by lightlydegraded peat swamp forest (40.5%) and peat shrublands(25.6%) with some kerangas forest (10.2%) and open scrub(11.4%).Biomass SurveyIn order to quantify biomass associated with landcover types, acombination of ground and aerial surveys were conducted.Survey transect locations are shown in Figure X. Survey methodsand results are briefly described below and detailed in theCarbon Assessment Survey Report (Annex 5). Two 8-­‐personteams of trained and experienced field staff conducted theground survey. A total of 16,000 meters of transect were markedand surveyed with biomass data recorded across 36 plotsrepresenting 9 hectares of forest. Biomass measurementsincluded tree diameter, tree height and tree crownmeasurements.Table 2. Land Cover Classification and Extent in the ProjectCarbon Accounting AreaLand Cover Description Extent (Ha) % TotalPeat Swamp Forest (lightly degraded) 18,983 40.4Peat swamp forest (highly degraded_ 1,734 3.7Peat Shrubland (