Using ETM+ band ratios and principal component analysis for monitoring of vegetation cover in Neyshabour area

Remote sensing techniques are known as very useful methods for studying land use management in arid and semi arid areas, where undeveloped soils are dominant. These techniques can be used for determining different environmental characteristics including soil and vegetations. In this study ETM+ band ratios and Principal component analysis (PCA) were used for monitoring of vegetation cover and its disparity in relation to soil characteristics. Neyshabour area was selected as the study area. The results showed that using of vegetation indices and PCA increased regression coefficients for the model. It was also found that when the analysis is restricted to more homogenous areas, the regression coefficients were improved significantly. It was also concluded that it is possible to develop some statistical models for using of ETM+ images for monitoring vegetation cover in arid areas which are covered dispersedly