Connection between fire and land cover change in Riau province, Sumatra from 1998 to 2002

A study on the relationship between fire and land cover change was carried out in Riau province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Multispectral full resolution SPOT mosaics were used in visual land cover classification and burnt area estimation for 1998, 2000 and 2002. Preliminary analysis of the data with active fires detected on SPOT images show that fire is very strongly connected with land cover change in primary vegetation and somewhat less in secondary growth. However, this connection can not be seen in managed land cover types. The primary vegetation on the study area diminished about 5% per year. The main directions of land cover change went via secondary growth towards plantations and small-holder dominated mosaic.