Satellite imagen and GIS to assess current state of vegetation cover in a semiarid region

Abstract

Abstract: Land cover is an important indicator to reflect the net effects of many processes in the environment such as the status of vegetation cover, the present assessment in specific areas helps to understand the dynamics of coverage and land use; in this study case, Landsat 8 images (OLI) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used, to analyze, the Satellite Reflectance behavior by type of coverage. The Satellite Reflectance was calculated by the equation derived for Landsat 8. Subsequently, the NDVI was calculated to locate the types and percentages of coverage in the study area. The data was processed and interpreted through ArcGIS 10.2.2 The results indicate high values of reflectance in band 5 for the coverage of agriculture and vegetation, while in band 4 the highest reflectance values correspond to soil and water, which proves the utility of these bands for the calculation of NDVI; NDVI represents an indicator of vegetation health because the degradation of the vegetation of the ecosystem is reflected in the smallest value.  Being the soil and the agricultural areas the largest extension in the studied area it is poses the situation to address the use and management of it, natural and healthy vegetation is fundamental to the integrity of ecosystems.  To semi-arid regions know the current state of vegetation cover is essential for sustainable management of natural resources.