NDVI Threshold Classification for Detecting Vegetation Cover in Damietta Governorate, Egypt

The aim of this study is to detect vegetation cover change at Damietta governorate by using remote sensing technique. To fulfill this objective, three Landsat images (path 176, row 038) acquired in 1987 (TM), 2004 (ETM+) and 2013 (Landsat-8) were used to map the land cover and monitor NDVI over the investigated area. The threshold NDVI classification analysis revealed three vegetation cover groups including no plant cover, weak plants and healthy plants, which were designated in an increasing order of vegetation vigor. Vegetation cover revealed significant spatial and temporal changes. There was a general decrease in vegetation cover indicating a trend of degradation of the ecosystem. The spatial pattern in the classified images showed that the "healthy plants" had decreased in the 1987-2013 period, by 19.1% and by 10.1% in the 2004- 2013 period.