Land cover assessment in Jammu & Kashmir using phenology as discriminant - An approach of wide swath satellite (IRS-WiFS)

Climatic and seasonal variations guide the change in the internal features of vegetation and thus the vegetation mapping. A correlation between the vegetation units and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is established and the spatial distribution of phenology and seasonal distribution is deduced for mapping. High amount of spectral variability contributed by phenological phases made us generate a large number of clusters to distinguish features. The study has significance in the light of national development needs vis-il-vis advancement expected in the future indigenous and international remote sensing missions. The study suggests that multi-date data consider the variability and enables us to delineate the land use and land cover pattern of Jammu & Kashmir. The regional phyto-phenological classified map provides details on vegetation stratum. They can be an excellent source of data for understanding the land dynamic processes and human interventions in the region. The map derived can delineate finer, the biogeographical zones.