VEGETATION INDICES OF ACACIA MANGIUM USING LANDSAT 8 OPERATIONAL LAND IMAGER

Aqilah Nabihah, Anuar and Ismail, Jusoh and Affendi, Suhaili (2022) VEGETATION INDICES OF ACACIA MANGIUM USING LANDSAT 8 OPERATIONAL LAND IMAGER. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management, 17 (4). pp. 57-69. ISSN 2672-7226

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Abstract

Monitoring a forest plantation using satellite remote sensing would be an attractive alternative compared to using a conventional method such as ground-based observations. Ground-based monitoring can be laborious and time-consuming, especially when it involves a large forested area. In contrast, satellite remote sensing can provide a synoptic view of the whole area in a single dataset. However, the ability to relate the relationship between spectral reflectance signature from Landsat 8 and the planted Acacia mangium is not fully understood, especially in Malaysia. This study was conducted to determine the vegetation reflectance band and indices to distinguish between A. mangium canopy and other land covers. Landsat 8 OLI image acquisition and analyses were performed to identify detected reflectance bands and vegetation indices (VIs) of the A. mangium plantation of four years old and above. Results showed that out of seven bands, only band 7 or short-wave infrared 2 is the most suitable spectral band for detecting A. mangium trees of age four years and older. The spatial distribution of land cover illustrated that 55.1% of the plantation area is covered with A. mangium. The addition of NDVI, EVI, MSAVI and ND43 improved different land cover distinguishing capabilities. The higher the values of VIs, the denser the A. mangium cover and the negative values illustrate less vegetation cover and open canopy within the study area. The VI shows a clear profile in which bare soil and water bodies are clearly defined against A. mangium canopy. A land cover map can be generated based on band 7 spectral response and VIs, and provides realtime distribution of A. mangium. It can be used to monitor forest resources over a large area with minimal groundwork.

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