Vegetation’s cover mapping and change detection analysis using multi-temporal satellite imagery; A case study of Imphal East & West districts

The green plants around the world and in regions can change the climate and the transfer of energy on land. Climate is a very important element that plays a vital role in vegetation cover. This study aims to analyze the land cover changes in the urban context of the Imphal area, Manipur, India, using satellite images and vegetation indices generated from multi-spectral remote sensing data. Landsat 8 (OLI) images were processed by multi-source classification and vegetation index differencing techniques to discover changes over time. The study finds that there were large land use changes between 2018 and 2023 that revealed bare soil had varied the most, increasing from around 200 square kilometers in 2018 to 300 square kilometers in 2023, which reflects fast urbanization and possible loss of vegetated areas. These changes reflect the growing urbanization and its effect on the natural ecosystems of the region. The most important vegetation indices used in this study are NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), GNDVI (Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), SAVI (Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index), and MSAVI2 (Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index 2) for monitoring vegetation health and land cover change. The average values of the threshold of these indices in the area of Imphal were stated as NDVI (0.267), GNDVI (0.262), SAVI (0.157), and MSAVI2 (0.075), providing the necessary data on geographic and temporal variability of vegetation coverage that allow indicating the areas at risk of degradation and high productivity. The paper has highlighted the potential of remote sensing (RS) technology in detecting land cover change as well as vegetation variability that offers useful information in sustainable land use management and environmental planning. The conclusions will help policymakers in formulating sustainable land use and ecological protection policies.