Spatio-Temporal Overview of Vegetation Cover Using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index – A Case Study of Nagaon District of Assam

Plants are critical to the survival of living populations and provide important sources of income for millions of people worldwide. Aside from providing a source of income for millions more, it is estimated that 410 million people rely heavily on forests for subsistence and employment, with 1.6 billion people relying on forests for a living (Munang, Thiaw, Thompson, Ganz, & Girvetz, 2011). However, deforestation and forest destruction (D&D) are wreaking havoc on the environment, resulting in a significant decrease in the provision of valuable ecosystem goods and services from forests. The assessment of vegetation cover is required in this context. As a result, Nagaon District is concerned about evaluating vegetation cover throughout the study period (1992-2022). Various Landsat images of three different years are collected from the US Geological Survey website. As a result, the Vegetation Map is created in ArcGIS using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). NDVI indices are used to assess the amount of vegetation in a given area. According to the study, the rate of decrease of dense vegetation has been identified during this period (1992-2022). Similarly, due to increased population pressure on land, the area under construction has gradually increased over the last 30 years 1992-2022). As a result, proper forest management and land utilization policies are required for the study area's long-term management.