Tracking land-use and land-cover change through fragmentation dynamics in the Ciliwung River watershed, Indonesia: a remote-sensing and GIS approach

Understanding landscape fragmentation is crucial to explore comprehensive land-use–land-cover (LULC) change within fast-growing urbanisation. While LULC change is a global concern, limited research explores landscape fragmentation along river and road infrastructure in high-density riverine contexts. This study addresses this gap through understanding dynamic landscape fragmentation patterns to track LULC in the Ciliwung River, Indonesia, from 1990 to 2020. The research employed remote sensing, GIS, R programming with Landsat data, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values, buffering, and landscape metrics. The findings show minimal fragmentation was concentrated downstream near Jakarta, while significant fragmentation, manifesting as green loss, occurred in the midstream. Buffer analysis showed high green loss in the upstream segment both near the river and roads, particularly within a 0–400 m buffer. However, landscape metrics identified changes in the midstream close to the river buffer (0–200 m) indicating that riparian green spaces in this area persist as relatively large but ecologically unconnected “chunks”. The stability of these remaining patches makes them a crucial asset for targeted restoration. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how river and road networks influence the change, highlighting the integral role of remote sensing and GIS in monitoring LULC change for natural preservation.