Analysis of vegetation cover and built-up areas in the Percut watershed landscape, North Sumatra Province using sentinel-2 imagery

Abstract

Changes in land cover have an impact on the health condition of a watershed. This research was conducted by utilizing Sentinel-2 imagery for the recording period 2020 and 2021. Three indices were used in this study, namely, the Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). NDBI analysis indicates there is an increase in the built-up area of 2,092.62 hectares which means land conversion. NDWI classification shows an increase in the wetness area of 308.58 hectares, mainly occurring in the downstream part of the watershed, located to the north. There is an increase in the area of non-vegetated areas reaching 288.96 hectares in the Percut watershed based on the results of the NDVI analysis.