Temporal Assessment of Socio-Environmental Impacts in Oil Palm Areas of Sumatra Using Remote Sensing
Abstract
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is the most important oil crop worldwide, with global demand projected to keep rising. In Indonesia, Sumatera and Kalimantan accounts for about 95% of the country’s oil palm plantation area, making these regions central to both economic growth and land use change. The rapid expansion of oil palm plantations in Sumatra has triggered significant land cover changes with wide-ranging environmental and socio-economic consequences. This study integrates multi-source remote sensing data with Least Squares Linear Regression (LSLR) modeling to quantify the dynamics of oil palm land use and evaluate their impacts on both ecological conditions and human communities. Environmental pressures were evaluated using land surface temperature (LST) and aerosol density, while socio-economic changes were examined through population density and night light data. The results indicate that most oil palm regions in Sumatra are experiencing moderate to high environmental stress, characterized by rising temperatures and increased aerosol concentration linked to large-scale plantation conversion. At the same time, plantation zones have become focal points of urbanization, attracting population growth and settlement expansion that reshape local socio-economic structures. For instance, Bengkulu exhibits accelerated urban-driven land conversion, while Jambi and North Sumatra demonstrate stronger interactions between plantation development and community growth. These findings highlight the intertwined nature of environmental degradation and socio-economic change, offering critical insights for land-use management, sustainability policies, and regional development planning in Indonesia.
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