Spatial Change Analisys Based on Ndvi Values Using Landsat Data: Case Study in Tetovo, Macedonia

Abstract

The rapid urban growth of the cities is a result of the population growth and the negative effects on human health and quality life are obvious which makes the monitoring of the urban growth very important. In this study monitoring over the city Tetovo in the northwestern part of Republic of Macedonia was made using remote sensed satellite images from Landsat archive that is widely used for monitoring the Earth's surface. An attempt of mapping the urban area on an annual basis from the period of 1984 to 2015 was made. Change detection in rapidly growing areas was made using the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) values that were classified for distinguishing the differences between urban and vegetated areas. The study area covers nine cadaster municipalities with 14.6 km(2). The results showed significant urban growth of 21.3% and 17.7% vegetation loss in the study area from 1984 to 2015.