Evaluation of NDVI Using SPOT-5 Satellite Data for Northern Ghana

Abstract

Monitoring environment changes has become a necessity as a result of current environment Environmental Management and Sustainable Development ISSN 2164-7682 2013 www.macrothink.org/emsd 168 deteriorating due to human activities and climate change. However, in most developing countries like Ghana, acquiring information concerning the current condition and the dynamic changes of the environment for a rapid monitoring is difficult. A method to monitor the environmental condition in Northern Ghana by the way of the vegetation cover using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is proposed. The method involves the use of remotely sensed data based on the absorption, transmittance and reflectance of energy by the vegetation which is significantly correlated with the amount of green leaf biomass on ground. The accuracy of this indicator is assessed with other in-situ geographic data. The main aim was to assess whether the NDVI-time series extracted from SPOT-5 images may give reliable information to assess the environment herein vegetation or land cover in Northern Ghana where there is a current rapid environmental change. It is shown that the NDVI data gives some valuable information about the vegetation hence land cover in these areas. The measurement of the amount of greenness in different areas in Northern Ghana would be simple but an objective method to assist in regular evaluation of the environmental situation of an area. The study demonstrated that NDVI technique can be employed to evaluate the vegetation cover and hence monitor the environment. Consequently, this method can be applied for other areas in the country and will be useful as an effective tool for regularly monitoring to support and create environmental awareness about the vegetative changes.

Comparing NDVI and Corine Land Cover as Tools for Improving National Forest Inventory Updates and Preventing Illegal Logging in Serbia

“…Previously, AVHRR-derived NDVI data advanced very high resolution radiometers (AVHRR) have been used to define the length of temperate forest growing seasons, using NDVI threshold values ranging from 0.25 [44] to 0.45 [45]. One survey of Northern Ghana suggests that appropriate NDVI value for forests is 0.32-0.4 [46], while study of Bangladesh it is 0.25 [47]. Also, Xiao et al suggest that the 0.25 NDVI threshold is appropriate for the onset of greenness development of deciduous forest types in northeastern China [43].…”

Enhancing the Quality of Satellite Images for Estimating the Water Body

“…Rivers and lakes form an important part of the hydrological cycle of water and are an important source of life on earth. Surface water, as the most important land resource, undergoes spatial and temporal changes and includes many factors such as land use changes, land cover level, climate changes, seasonal changes, and environmental changes that occur all over the world [1][2][3]. Earth's water levels are one of the irreplaceable (non-renewable) strategic resources for human survival.…”

Enhancing Semi-Arid Ecosystem Resilience in Jordan Using Controlled Grazing – A Short and Long-Term Assessment

“…Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values ranges for each distinguished class as applied in this study (adapted fromAnim, et al, 2013) …”