Estimation of vegetation cover percentage and biomass using remote sensing indices (Case study: protected areas of Southern Alborz, Karaj)

Vegetation is one of the criteria indicating the production potential of the land. So that the quality and quantity of vegetation in each region is a criterion for determining its production potential. In this research, vegetation indices of Landsat 8 digital data were used to estimate vegetation cover and biomass in the protected area of the central Alborz in June 2016. To study the correlation between vegetation cover and biomass with satellite data, 27 samples were obtained randomly in the region. Linear regression was used to determine the relationship between cover percentage and biomass values with remotely sensed vegetation indices. The results showed that among selected vegetation indexes,  Enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and Visible atmospherically resistant index (VAR) had the highest correlation coefficient with vegetation percentage 0.53 and 0.52, respectively. Therefore, these vegetation indices are appropriate for estimating vegetation cover at a 5% significance level. And in calibration, the correlation coefficient for the wet weight of vegetation and the indices of Global environment monitoring index (GEMI), Simple ratio (VR) and Enhanced vegetation index (EVI) were 0.43, 0.41 and 0.41, respectively even though their estimations were unsuccessful in the validation stage. According to the results of this research, it is recommended that the indicators for the estimation of the quality and quantity of vegetation should be used in which the atmosphere and soil impacts are considered.