Spatiotemporal Variations in Vegetation related to the Topographic Parameters over Central Zagros

Vegetation is one of the most important components of the ecological life of the environment due to its great impact on various ecosystems and also due to its direct impact on human livelihood and life, is a fundamental and important factor. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate vegetation changes in the central Zagros using satellite numerical data. In this regard, vegetation data of MODIS sensor with a spatial resolution of 250 m in the period 2001 to 2018 were obtained. These data were analyzed using Python coding language in relation to topographic measurements of height, the amount and slope direction by moving window raster processing method and cell -to -cell analysis method. The results showed that the maximum vegetation density in the central Zagros is observed in April to June and its minimum in January. The heights of the central Zagros show the highest rate of vegetation index in spring and the lowest rate in the winter. The maximum value of vegetation index occurs at an altitude of 1500 m. Vegetation index in the central Zagros has an upward trend up to a slope of 95% and then decreases slowly. The minimum vegetation index rate is observed in the southern direction from 150° - 200° of North azimuth and its maximum in the North direction is from 300° - 360° of North azimuth. The maximum vegetation altitude (M.V.A) descends to lower altitudes in cold months and ascends to higher altitudes in the warm months of the year. In general, the trend of changes in vegetation index shows an increase in vegetation index in this mountainous unit.