The Use of Sentinel-1 C-Band Dual Polarimetric and SAR Polarimetry Method for Peatland Analysis in South Kalimantan Indonesia

Abstract Peatlands are a crucial factor in assessing environmental quality due to their capacity to store carbon in their biomass. Tropical peatlands, which account for 11 percent of the world’s total peatland area, are significant terrestrial carbon reservoirs, holding up to 19 percent of the global carbon. Besides carbon storage, peatlands offer numerous ecological benefits to local communities. However, Indonesia’s peat swamp forests are experiencing unprecedented rates of deforestation, drainage, and alteration. Therefore, sustainable management of peatlands through monitoring is essential. Accurate data and information on peatlands are needed for effective land management and use while maintaining hydrological functions. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a highly efficient active remote sensing technology compared to optical remote sensing. The Polarimetric SAR method is expected to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of peatland identification. According to the official website pantaugambut.id, Kalimantan Island has the second-largest peatland area. This research aims to identify peatlands in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, using Sentinel-1 SAR imagery. The study will evaluate the potential of the Polarimetric SAR technique with Sentinel-1 dual polarization for peatland identification. Expected outcomes include identifying peatlands and analyzing their spatial distribution. The research is intended to promote rapid and accurate peatland mapping and serve as a foundational step for global carbon monitoring. The analysis revealed that the unsupervised classification identified 26,376 hectares as peatland, achieving an overall accuracy of 85.7%, precision of 87.5%, recall of 82.4%, and a kappa value of 0.7135.