Using Remote Sensing and GIS in Measuring Vegetation Cover Change from Satellite Imagery in Mosul City, North of Iraq

Abstract

The aim of the study is the assessment of changes in the land cover within Mosul City in the north of Iraq using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques during the period (2014-2018). Satellite images of the Landsat 8 on this period have been selected to classify images in order to measure normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to assess land cover changes within Mosul City. The results indicated that the vegetative distribution ratio in 2014 is 4.98% of the total area under study, decreased to 4.77% in 2015 and then decreased to 4.54 % in 2016, after then decreased to 3,59% in 2017,then increased to 4.39% in 2018. Land cover change of the area was identified using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) technique. Highest NDVI value was found in 2015 (6.26%) which denotes presence of moderate-high vegetation cover at that time period. After 2015, highest NDVI value was found following a decreasing trend (6.05% in 2016 and 5.96% in 2018) which clearly represents the vegetation cover change in the study area, also Green Normalized. Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI) is studied in this paper. Statistical properties for NDVI and GNDVI were illustrated has been computed. From the results of this study one can clearly notice that there are the spatial variation in the vegetal cover from 2014 to 2018 in Mosul city, north of Iraq.