Application of AWIFS digital data to determine vegetation cover (Case Study: Semirom-Isfahan)

GIS and satellite images have widely been used in natural resources assessment and management. Vegetation cover can be measured using remote sensing indices. The objective of present study was to investigate the application of AWiFS satellite images to measure vegetation cover percentage in Semirom- Isfahan province. Vegetation cover percentage was measured in 150 plots with size of 100 m2 each in 2009. Linear regression between field data and remote sensing vegetation indices was used to produce vegetation cover in the study area. Vegetation cover models were produced using different indices. According to the results, SAVI index had the highest correlation with field data (r = 0.74) and it was used to produce vegetation cover percentage map. Study area vegetation cover was classified in four classes: <20%, 20-30%, 30-40% and >40% using SAVI index. The produced vegetation map indicates that most of the region had low vegetation cover (<20% and 20-30%). The correlations of other measured vegetation indices including NDVI, PVI, RVI, TSAVI and MSAVI with vegetation cover percentage were 0.64, 0.69, 0.71, 0.72 and 0.70 respectively.