Evaluation of environmental carrying capacity based on land capability for agriculture development in the Melolo Transmigration Area, East Sumba

One way to do equitable development is to grow activity centers in an area. Transmigration is one of the government programs implemented to foster new activity centers in less developed areas. At present, Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area is a development priority to grow the area in the central part of East Sumba. The construction of transmigration settlements has been carried out since 2010 for settlement and agriculture, so it is necessary to evaluate the environmental carrying capacity to determine the suitability of land cover and land use to land capability. The method used is to compare land capability with land cover and land use and then assess its suitability. Based on the results of the analysis it is known that land capability in Development Area Unit B Melolo Transmigration Area is divided into four land capability classes, namely land capability classes I, II, III, and IV. Comparison of land capability with land cover and land use are included in the suitable criteria of 72.60 %, conditionally suitable at 23.11 %, and not suitable at 4.30 %. These results indicate that the environmental carrying capacity has not exceeded the threshold and requires conservation measures for agricultural development.


Introduction
Transmigration is one of the government programs implemented to grow new activity centers in less developed areas.Law Number 29 of 2009 concerning Transmigration states that the development of transmigration is carried out by creating transmigration areas through the development of settlement units and area development units.In Government Regulation Number 3 of 2014 concerning the Implementation of Transmigration, it is stated that the development of settlement units is used as a system of agricultural production and natural resource management that has functional linkages and spatial hierarchies within the regional development unit.Based on this explanation, it can be seen that the implementation of development through transmigration is related to natural resource management.
Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area in East Sumba Regency is one of the areas that has become a development priority for transmigration activities.Within the Development Unit Area B of the Melolo Transmigration Area, 5 Settlement Units have been developing to create new growth centers.The reserved land is 0.25 Ha for Yard Land and 1.75 Ha for Business Land. 1239Land. (2023) ) 012036 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1239/1/012036 2 Business land is given to developing a basic business pattern with an agricultural production system so that it can become an added economic value for transmigrants.However, research conducted by Wardana (2020) shows signs of pressure on the environmental carrying capacity and is predicted to exceed the threshold after 2021 if no control is exercised in managing natural resources.USAID (United States Agency for International Development) predicts that the implementation of transmigration has a risk of decreasing environmental quality because it is related to land.Wadu et al. (2019) revealed that the economic value generated in every use of natural resources is influenced by land area.Each additional 1% of the agricultural land area will increase land productivity by 0.3936% and result in a decrease in environmental quality by 0.4877%.According to this research, it is clear that the utilization of natural resources for economic purposes has a greater risk of decreasing environmental quality.The Central Statistics Agency for East Nusa Tenggara Province notes that every year there is a change in land use with an increasing number of agricultural land uses.The increasing need and pace of development further encourage changes in land use which have implications for decreasing environmental quality (Wirosoedarmo et al., 2011).As the demand for environmental services by humans keeps increasing, the point of reaching an overloaded environment carrying capacity will be reached if the capacity of these services does not grow in proportion (Fahrurozi et al., 2023).The utilization of natural resources in relation to spatial planning is governed by Law Number 26 of 2007.This legislation emphasizes the importance of considering the environmental carrying capacity.In Law Number 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management, it is stated that "carrying capacity is the ability of the environment to support human life with other living things and the balance between the two".Based on the Regulation of the Minister of Environment Number 17 of 2009 concerning Guidelines for Determining Environmental Carrying Capacity in Spatial Planning, determining carrying capacity can be carried out by determining land capability for spatial use allocation, comparing land availability and demand, and comparing water supply and demand.Research conducted by Litasari et al. (2022) calculates the environmental carrying capacity by analyzing the suitability of land capability requirements with existing land uses and official land use plans.Wijaya et al. (2015) evaluated official land use plans by knowing the environmental carrying capacity based on an analysis of area functions which were then grouped according to land capability classes.Meanwhile, Wardana (2020) analyzes the environmental carrying capacity by knowing the capacity of a region to meet human needs within a certain period by dividing the biocapacity value by the per capita ecological footprint value.Research on other carrying capacities was conducted by Arcana et al. (2021) who conducted an assessment by analyzing population growth, the carrying capacity, and capacity of residential land.In addition, the carrying capacity analysis was carried out by different methods by Fahrurozi et al. (2023) with an emphasis on qualitative methods through the das sein (real conditions) -das sollen (expected conditions) approach.
The presence of carrying capacity plays a crucial role in managing and offering environmental services, which are utilized to fulfill human requirements when it comes to utilizing space as per the Regional Spatial Plan (Fahrurozi et al., 2023).The environmental carrying capacity can be a guide in the use of space for spatial planning so that a safe, comfortable, productive, and harmonious national territorial space exists between the natural environment and the built environment (Suharto et al., 2017).Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the environmental carrying capacity to determine the allocation of space utilization.The purpose of this research is to evaluate the environmental carrying capacity based on the ability of the land to agriculture development.
Sources : Arsyad, 2010 The data needed to conduct this research consists of slope maps, soil maps, land use maps, and land cover maps.Slope map obtained from the results of raster analysis of the SRTM30m DEM which is classified with a slope level of 0-3% (flat), 3-8% (sloping or wavy), 8-15% (slightly sloping), 15-30% (sloping), 30-45% (Rather Steep), 45-60% (Steep), and > 60% (Very Steep).The soil map was obtained from the Center for Research and Development of Agricultural Land Resources of the Ministry of Agriculture in the form of distribution and soil types.While the physical properties of the soil consisting of soil depth, soil texture, soil composition, and soil permeability properties were obtained from field surveys.In addition, land use maps and land cover maps were also obtained from field surveys.

Results and discussion
Evaluation of the carrying capacity of agricultural development in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area uses variables based on the physical characteristics of the land.The physical characteristics of the land used to evaluate land capability are the slope of the land and soil conditions.The slope describes the shape of the land on the earth's surface which affects land quality (Dengen et al., 2019) and disaster factors such as erosion and landslides (Wirosoedarmo et al., 2011).While the soil is a planting medium in which some nutrients are important for plant growth.According to Nurkholis et al. (2020), soil type represents soil properties consisting of elevation, drainage, relief, base saturation, cation exchange capacity, soil texture, soil acidity, and soil mineral depth.Research conducted by Margolang et al. (2015) proved that the physical properties of soil in the form of color, total soil pore space, and soil permeability are important indicators used to assess soil quality, especially in developing agriculture.
Identification of the physical characteristics of the land shows that the condition of the landform is hilly and there are two types of soil scattered throughout the Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area.The slope level is divided into 5 classes with a slope level of 0-3% (flat), 3-8% (sloping or wavy), 8-15% (slightly sloping), 15-30% (sloping) and > 30% (slightly steep).Most of the land has a slope level of 0-3% (flat).Landforms that are hilly with a slope of > 30% (rather steep) are scattered in the southern part.In addition, the land close to the river has a slope between 8-15% (slightly sloping) and 15-30% (sloping).Soil types in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area consist of Mediterranean soil and litosol soil.The litosol soil type is the most dominant soil, while the Mediterranean soil type is only found in the north and south.The physical characteristics of litosol soil are gray-white to brownish, the soil texture is rather coarse and rocky with rather fast soil drainage properties.In addition, the thickness of the soil solum in lithosol soil types is very shallow with a thickness of <20 cm, making it susceptible to erosion.Meanwhile, Mediterranean soil has a characteristic grayish-brown to red color with a relatively moderate thickness of the solum, which is 50-75 cm.The drainage properties of Mediterranean soils are poor due to their low water-holding capacity.The main material for Mediterranean soil comes from limestone, so it contains high levels of carbonate (CaO) and silica (SiO2) (Nilawardani, 2020).
The results of land capability analysis show that land in Development Area Unit B Melolo Transmigration Area in East Sumba Regency consists of 4 land capability classes namely: land capability class I, land capability class II, land capability class III and land capability class IV.According to Arsyad (2010) land with land capability class I -IV is suitable for various land uses, both for seasonal and annual agricultural land, grass for animal feed, pastures, and forests.Widiatmaka et al. (2015) also revealed the same thing land capability class I -IV has high to moderate capability so that it can be used for all types of land use such as all types of forest, all types of grazing, and limited agriculture.The types of land use in land capability classes I -IV are different from the Regulation of the Minister of Environment Number 17 of 2009 concerning Guidelines for Determining the Environmental carrying capacity in Regional Spatial Planning.In the ministerial regulation, it is explained that land capability classes I -II are land suitable for agricultural land use, while land capability classes III -IV are considered for various other uses but can still be used for agriculture."The numbers indicate progressively greater limitations and narrower choices for practical use" (Neitsch et al., 1997).
The main factor influencing the difference in land capability in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area is soil.Soil classification systems and soil inventories are applied for a wide range of uses, primarily relating to plant growth and productivity (Dumanski et al., 2002)   Based on the 2020 land use map issued by the Ministry of Environment, shows that land cover and land use in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area consist of forest, shrubs, and grasslands as well as land use for open area, plantations, dry land agriculture, rice fields, buildings, settlements, and transmigration settlements.Most of the land cover is dominated by grasslands of 50.54% with an area of 14,905.99Ha.There is only 13.01 Ha of forest or about 0.04% remaining and other land cover in the form of shrubs covering 5,657.64Ha.Meanwhile, land use is mostly used for transmigration settlements with an area of 2,357.50Ha or around 7.99%.Other land uses are in the form of plantations, dry land agriculture, paddy fields, buildings, and local residents with a composition of under 10% of the total area of Development Area Unit B in the Melolo Transmigration Area.The land in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area has not been used optimally.This can be seen from the composition of land cover which is larger than land use.Juniyanti et al. (2020) state that changes in land cover occur due to several basic causes that encourage land clearing and land management at the site level so that there is land use.Land use is an expression of the interaction between the environment and human activities to make the environment fit the needs (Juniyanti et al., 2020) and economic interests (Mulya et al., 2019).Land use by residents for buildings and settlements, plantations, dry land agriculture, and paddy fields is still very low, namely below 10% of the total area.The largest land use is precisely for transmigration settlements, namely around 7.99%, and open area around 11.17% which is carried out through land clearing by companies for plantations.Land use is related to human activities and also land resources for regional development so it has an impact on increasing land cover pressure that occurs due to an increase in population, and social activities, and economics (Naufal & Susetyo, 2020).Harmony between land capability and land use needs to be taken into consideration in planning the main business pattern for agriculture in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area in the East Sumba Regency.The results of the carrying capacity evaluation in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area show that environmental capacity has not exceeded the threshold and can still be utilized to encourage development.Land use for development activities occurs due to the transmigration program and land clearing by plantation companies.Based on the analysis, the land use is in class IV land capability with a conditional suitability level.This is because land capability class IV has a limiting factor that is classified as heavy so land use is only limited to certain land uses.Arsyad (2010) explains that increasing obstacles or threats will reduce land use choices.Conservation measures are more difficult to implement and need to maintain soil fertility and physical condition.
Soil texture conditions and soil solum depth are the main limiting factors that affect land capability classes.Land use for agricultural development in the Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area requires conservation measures.Based on Law Number 37 of 2014 concerning Soil and Water Conservation, conservation actions can be carried out using vegetative, agronomic, and mechanical methods by constructing buildings for soil and water conservation.According to Mindawati & Darwo (2019), the agronomic method with mulching techniques is the most effective way to overcome soil limiting factors.The addition of a layer of solum can be done with a permanent mulching technique, namely by placing twigs or dry leaves on the mounds."Organic mulch will naturally blend with the soil due to natural processes involving soil organisms and non-biological weathering" (Wasis, 2020).The use of mulching techniques can increase the thickness of the soil solum while at the same time adding nutrients to the soil.In addition, mulching techniques are also effective in reducing runoff and erosion rates (Mindawati & Darwo, 2019) to maintain soil moisture (Wasis, 2020).In addition, there are also land uses that are not following the capabilities of the land.Types of land use that are not suitable are paddy fields and dry land agriculture.The limiting factor for land use for paddy fields is not suitable due to the rather rough texture conditions and in some locations due to the slightly sloping slope.While the limiting factor for land capability in land use for dry land agriculture is caused by the slope level which is sloping and rather steep.class VIII so that the choice of land use decreases.In capability classes I and II, land use is suitable for agriculture, while land capability classes III and IV can be used for agriculture but are limited and can also be considered for other land uses (Wijaya et al., 2015).Therefore, the development of agriculture needs to be adjusted to the land capability class in determining land use.

Conclusion
. Land capabilities I, II, and III are spread over land with Mediterranean soil.Land capability class I is spread in the north and some parts in the south.Meanwhile, class II and III land capability is only spread in the southern part.Most of the land in the southern part is dominated by class III land capability, which is 11,511.58Ha or around 49.94% of all class III land capability.The limiting factor for land capability in the south is the slope.This is because the landscape is increasingly hilly in the south.Meanwhile, class IV land capability is spread throughout the land with litosol soil.Land with an area of 23,410.45Ha or around 47.17% of the area of Development Area Unit B in the Melolo Transmigration Area is included in class IV land capability.The main inhibiting factors for land capability class on litosol soils are soil texture and slope on some hilly lands.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Map of land capability in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Map of environmental carrying capacity in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area

Table 1 .
Agricultural land use in East Sumba

Table 2 .
Variables of land capability

Table 3 .
Land capability class in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area

Table 4 .
Land cover and land use in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area

Table 5 .
Environmental carrying capacity in Development Area in Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area is a development priority to create a new growth center in East Sumba Regency.Various developments have been implemented to encourage regional growth.Analysis of land capability needs to be done to determine the environmental carrying capacity and land capability that supports land use.Based on the results of the analysis, the land capability class is divided into 4 capability classes, namely land capability class I to class IV land capability.Comparison between land cover and land use with land capability shows that there is a land with an area of 21,467.91 ha or about 72.60 % classified as suitable, land with an area of 6,833.60 ha or about 23.11 % is classified as conditionally suitable, and land with an area of 1,270.31ha or about 4.30 % is classified as unsuitable with the capability of the land contained in Development Area Unit B of the Melolo Transmigration Area.Agricultural Development in Development Area Unit B Melolo Transmigration Area has not passed the environmental carrying capacity threshold.The determination of land use for the agricultural development must be adjusted to the capability of the land so as not to exceed the environmental carrying capacity.