Computing NDVI from a Landsat TM/ETM+ image in ArcGIS

Image Analysis
Aim: To compute an NDVI image using ArcGIS Image Analysis

Imagery: individual bands of a Landsat TM or ETM+ scene in .tif format that covers
Coventry

Files: to be decided by you

Data path: to be decided by you

Time: 20 minutes

Normalised Difference Vegetation Index

The Normalised Difference Vegetation Index is a standard algorithm designed to estimate the
amount of above-ground green vegetation cover from measurements of red and near-infrared
reflectance.

The principle behind the NDVI is that 'green' leaves absorb radiation at red wavelengths (640-670
nm) due to the presence of chlorophyll pigments whilst scattering radiance at very near infrared
wavelengths (700-1100 nm) due to the internal structure of the leaf. In contrast a bare soil surface
has higher reflectance at red wavelengths and lower reflectance at near-infrared wavelengths.

If you compute a simple ratio of NIR / Red measurements, known as the Simple Vegetation Index
(SVI), then densely vegetated surfaces produce higher values than sparse or non-vegetated
surfaces. By calculating the ratio of 2 bands you eliminate the effects of changing the level of
illumination – if the sunlight intensity doubles then both the red and NIR measurements will double.

The NDVI is more widely used than the Simple VI, however, because it scales between -1 (for
snow and ice) and +1 (for complete vegetation cover) and it tends to have a more linear
relationship with vegetation properties such as biomass or leaf area index (LAI).
NDVI is used:
• to monitor crop growth and predict yield at regional scales
• to warn of impending crop failure due to drought or pests at local scales
• to generate maps of above-ground biomass that can be used in carbon trading
• to characterise the seasonal photosynthetic activity of the global biosphere

Several EO missions have or have had sensors that record red and near-infrared reflectance e.g.
NOAA-AVHRR, NigeriaSat-1, SPOT-HRV, SPOT-Vegetation, ERS-1 ATSR2, Landsat-MSS, EO-1
ALI, Terra/Aqua MODIS. The TM and ETM+ sensors onboard Landsat-4 and -5 and Landsat-7
respectively acquired data for three decades between 1982 and 2011. Each sensor has 6 optical
bands spread across the visible to shortwave infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. NDVI
is calculated from TM Band 3, the red waveband, and TM Band 4, the near-infrared waveband.

Band no. Waveband Wavelength (nm)

1 Blue 450 - 520
2 Green 520 - 600
3 Red 630 - 690
4 Very Near-Infrared 760 - 900
5 Near-infrared 1550 - 1750
7 Shortwave Infrared 2080 - 2350

Landsat TM 432 image and NDVI of Knife, on the western shore of Hudson Bay, Canada.
Processing NDVI
Launch ArcMap.

Add a basemap in the form of Open Street Map.

Connect to the folder containing the Landsat TM (or ETM+) subscene and Add the data to ArcMap.

Open Image Analysis and highlight the subscene as the active layer.

Apply the NDVI 'maple leaf' tool from the Processing toolkit.

A new layer is computed and appears in the Table of Contents. You can change the colour palette
from its' Properties in the same way as any other layer. However, before you process the image
further you need to save the NDVI image:

> Data
> Extent set as Original
> Spatial Reference set at Original
> Location is the folder
> Name the file
> No compression

Extracting vegetated areas by thresholding an NDVI image

The NDVI calculation estimates the amount of vegetation. Sometimes we just want to know
whether an area is vegetated or not. Use the Identify tool to estimate a threshold NDVI value that
discriminates between b=vegetated and non-vegetated pixels. As you are interested in small areas
of land that have some vegetation cover examine isolated 'green' pixels in built-up (non-vegetated)
neighbourhoods and/or a string of pixels that might represent a tree-lined road.

Reclass the raster NDVI image.

> Geoprocessing
> ArcToolbox
> Spatial Analyst Tools
> Reclass
> Reclassify
> Your output should consist of 2 categories (vegetated and
non-vegetated)

Display the output (Properties > Symbology). Choose your palette carefully.

Compare the pattern of greenspace to the Open Street Map basemap. To what extent does the
built environment correspond to a lack of vegetation? What other areas appear to be devoid of
vegetation? Why?
Answers to Questions in Text