Open Access

ARTICLE

Monitoring Vegetation Cover Changes in a Rapidly Urbanizing Region: A Case Study in Da Nang City, Vietnam

Vu Thi Phuong¹, Bui Bao Thien^2,*

1 Innovation Startup Support Center, Hong Duc University, Thanh Hoa, 44000, Vietnam
2 Institute of Earth Sciences, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, 344090, Russia

* Corresponding Author: Bui Bao Thien. Email:

Revue Internationale de Géomatique 2025, 34, 151-168. https://doi.org/10.32604/rig.2025.062829

Received 28 December 2024; Accepted 24 February 2025; Issue published 21 March 2025

Abstract

Vegetation is crucial to ecosystems, thus, detecting and assessing changes in vegetation cover are receiving increasing attention. In this study, we combine remote sensing data and geographic information systems to assess vegetation cover changes in Da Nang city, Vietnam, between 1988 and 2022. Remote sensing images for the years 1988, 2000, and 2010 were obtained from Landsat 5-TM satellite data, and imagery for 2022 was obtained from Landsat 9-OLI/TIRS satellite data. In each satellite scene, we used supervised classification and spectral indices (NDWI—Normalized Difference Water Index, NDVI—Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and SAVI—Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index) to classify land cover and assess vegetation cover. The land cover analysis revealed a significant decrease in vegetation cover and a significant increase in built-up land. The built-up land area increase of 120.12 km² (12.25%) negatively impacted the area of vegetation, causing this land cover class to decrease by 97.69 km² (9.96%) in 2022 compared to 1988. Overall, NDVI provides better estimates of vegetation cover variation than SAVI. The findings of this study can support planners in developing appropriate strategies to maintain ecological balance and prevent vegetation loss.

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Keywords

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