Assessment of Land Use-land Cover and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index of Darrang District, Assam, India

Abstract

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a quantitative tool which utilizes satellite based observations to evaluate the condition and coverage of vegetation. Land use refers to how humans use land for activities such as settlements, agriculture etc and Land cover describe the physical material present on the earth like water bodies, forest etc. The aim of the study is to examine the latest status of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) of the District. Darrang District, which is situated in the middle of Assam and towards north of river Brahmaputra has been considered as the location for the study. It extends in between 20.9 N to 26.96 N latitudes and 91.45 E to 92.22 E longitudes. The boundaries of Darrang District are, in the northern side Udalguri district, in the southern side River Brahmaputra, Morigaon & Kamrup District, in the eastern side Sonitpur District and in the western side Kamrup District. During conducting the study, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager/ Thematic Infrared Sensor (OLI_TIRS) for the year 2025 has been taken from the USGS (United States Geological Survey). Towards carrying out the classification on supervised mode with maximum likelihood method, ERDAS IMAGINE software has been utilized to categorize the Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) map. Accuracy assessment has been done for validating the classified image. By using the ArcGIS 10.8 software, the bands 4 (red) and band 5 (near-infrared) are utilized from Landsat 8 satellite imagery to carry out the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis. The result shows that Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values have been found between -0.09 and 0.40 for the year 2025, which indicates sparse vegetation or moderately green cover during dormant seasons. The result also shows that from the total area covered by Darrang District, land under agriculture occupies the largest portion amounting 42.47%, followed by built-up areas amounting 23.98%. The Plantation cover the smallest area amounting 2.16%, followed by forest cover amounting 4.82%. Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) studies offer decision–makers a better understanding of changing land-use patterns for effective planning, while Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) studies provide crucial data on vegetation health to support sustainable ecosystem and resource management choices.