Biotech Studies 2012, Vol 21, Num, 2     (Pages: 050-056)

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Turkey Vegetation with NDVI Images

Hakan YILDIZ 1 ,Ali MERMER 1 ,Ediz ÜNAL 1 ,Fevzi AKBAŞ 2

1 Tarla Bitkileri Merkez Araştırma Enstitüsü Müdürlüğü, Ankara
2 Toprak Su ve Çölleşme ile Mücadele Araştırma İstasyonu Müdürlüğü, Konya
- Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is calculated from satellite data and has been widely used for vegetation monitoring. The objective of this study was to investigate distribution of vegetation intensity and to determine temporal characteristics of this vegetation such as start growing day and maximum vegetation intensity time. Spot-Veg archive data covering Turkey was used in this study and analysed using VAST software. According to study, earliest vegetation green up was seen at Mediterranean, Aegean, and Southern Anatolia regions. Vegetation green up was seen at 150th day of year (end of May) because of high elevation at Eastern Anatolia region. Other vegetation parameters had similar pattern according to regions. This study showed that vegetation change can be monitored and analysed successfully using NDVI data. Keywords : NDVI, VAST, Vegetation, Remote sensing