ABSTRACT

The eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on November 3, 2024, caused damage to the ecosystem, including vegetation around the mountain area. This study aims to analyze changes in vegetation density before and after the eruption using remote sensing techniques based on Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS satellite imagery and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) approach. The satellite imagery used includes data from October 4, 2024 (before the eruption) and November 5, 2024 (after the eruption). The analysis involved data processing stages such as image cropping, reclassification, overlay, NDVI calculation, and map layout design. The results show that in October 2024, the dominant vegetation density class was non-vegetation (38.3%), while in November 2024, the dominant class was low vegetation density (60.1%). There was a notable decrease in the area of high-density vegetation from 85.32 hectares to 22.64 hectares, indicating degradation due to the volcanic eruption. These findings are expected to serve as a reference for conservation, rehabilitation efforts, and policy-making in post-disaster vegetation recovery. In October the non vegetation density classon Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki had an area of 134.16 Ha or around 38.3%,the low density class had an area of 127.52 Ha or around 36.4%, the high densityclass had an area of 85.32 Ha or around 24.4% and the very high densityclass had an area of 3.39 Ha or around 1% of the totalarea of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki. In November the nonvegetation density class on Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki had an area of 91.09 Ha or about 26%, the low density classhad an area of 210.67 Ha or about 60.1%, the high density class hadan area of 22.64 Ha or about 6.5% and the very high density class hadan area of 26 Ha or about 7.4% of the entire area of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki.
Keywords: Mount Lewotobi, NDVI, vegetation density, Landsat 8, remote sensing