Land use direction based on landslide susceptibility levels in the Rongkong Watershed, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Tirsyayu T, Soma AS, Paembonan SA. 2025. Land use direction based on landslide susceptibility levels in the Rongkong Watershed, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Asian J For 9: 53-67. Landslides, a common natural disaster in Indonesia, cause significant material and non-material losses. Mitigation efforts, including the provision of accurate information about landslide-prone areas and appropriate land-use recommendations, are crucial for minimizing their impact. This study, which analyzed landslide susceptibility using the frequency ratio method integrated with GIS technology, provides confidence in its methodology. The research, which began with data collection on landslide occurrences through imagery, identified 388 landslide points. These data were divided into two groups: validation data (20%) and training data (80%). The validation process, using the ROC curve, yielded an AUC value of 0.81, indicating the effectiveness of the frequency ratio method in predicting landslide occurrences in the Rongkong Watershed, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The study revealed that parameters such as rainfall, slope gradient, land cover, elevation, lithology, curvature, and slope aspect significantly influence landslides in the Rongkong Watershed. In contrast, parameters such as distance from rivers, distance from roads, and NDVI had less influence. The study's findings, which classified landslide susceptibility levels as very high (1.32%), high (29.05%), and moderate (25.70%) based on the total area of the Rongkong Watershed, are of significant importance. They suggest that land use in areas with very high and high susceptibility should be designated for conservation or protected zones. In comparison, areas with moderate susceptibility can be utilized for limited and controlled cultivation, such as implementing agroforestry systems.