The use of Drone for Identifying and Mapping of Revegetation Plant in Coal Post-mines in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra, Indonesia

Land reclamation and revegetation of post-mines need to be monitored regularly to ensure their progress. The drone is potential due to its high resolution and simplicity in operation and image processing. This study aimed to use the drone as an alternative in identifying and mapping land after the revegetation of coal post-mines in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The research was conducted at the IUP Banko Barat of PT. Bukit Asam Co. Ltd, Indonesia. This research was conducted from September to December 2021. The method used in this study was a manual interpretation by making a delineation of the boundaries between types of revegetation plants in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 planting years. The use of drones in this study was able to determine the distribution of revegetation plants used and produce the revegetation plant distribution map with 5 land cover classes, including Eucalyptus as the dominant species while Angsana (Pterocarpus indicus), Merbau (Intsia sp), Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), and Johar (Senna siamea) species with their patchy patterns, covering a total area of 22.52 ha or 66.44%. Eucalyptus is the most dominantly used as revegetation species in the coal post-mine in Tanjung Enim, with an area of 22.39 ha or 66.04% of the land. The drone is reliable for monitoring revegetation progress and may be used as a supplemental tool for evaluating post-mine conditions.