RGB-NDVI colour composites for visualizing forest change dynamics

Abstract

The study presents a simple and logical technique to display and quantify forest change using three dates of satellite imagery. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was computed for each date of imagery to define high and low vegetation biomass. Color composites were generated by combining each date of NDVI with either the red, green, or blue (RGB) image planes in an image display monitor. Harvest and regeneration areas were quantified by applying a modified parallelepiped classification creating an RGB-NDVI image with 27 classes that were grouped into nine major forest change categories. Aerial photographs and stand history maps are compared with the forest changes indicated by the RGB-NDVI image. The utility of the RGB-NDVI technique for supporting forest inventories and updating forest resource information systems are presented and discussed.