Evaluating the Effectiveness of Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems(GIS),and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) in Monitoring Vegetation Cover Dynamics in the AL_Zawiya and AL_Zahra Areas during the period 1995_2021

Abstract

This study aims to test the effectiveness of spatial technologies, namely Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), in monitoring the dynamics of vegetation cover in the regions of (Al-Zahra' and Al-Zawiya) during the period (1995–2021). The study relied on three satellite images from Landsat-5 (1995) and Landsat-8 (2019, 2021), and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated using ArcMap software. The vegetation cover was classified into four categories: dense, moderate, poor, and non-existent, in order to answer the main research question: To what extent are spatial technologies capable of monitoring the dynamics of vegetation cover? The results showed a clear spatial and temporal variation in the distribution of vegetation cover. The percentage of dense vegetation cover reached its highest value in 2019, recording (1.82%), then declined to (1.12%) in 2021, influenced by the heatwave that the region experienced. In contrast, the area of poor vegetation cover expanded significantly in 2019, constituting (78.34%) of the total area, indicating a distinct shift towards the deterioration of vegetation cover. The resulting maps also revealed that moderate and dense vegetation cover are concentrated in the northern parts near the coast, while poor vegetation cover prevails in the southern areas. The study demonstrated the effectiveness of spatial technologies in monitoring the dynamics of vegetation cover, as Remote Sensing contributed to identifying the spatial and temporal variation, and the (NDVI) index enabled distinguishing the degrees of vegetation cover density and monitoring their changes, while Geographic Information Systems contributed to producing maps that illustrate the spatial distribution and its changes, thus confirming the capability of these technologies to monitor the dynamics of vegetation cover, especially given the scarcity of continuous field data.