# Vegetation index mapping
*methodologies*

Derives vegetation health, density, and phenology indicators (NDVI, EVI, SAVI) from red and NIR band ratios; good for crop monitoring, deforestation alerts, and land cover change detection.

## Specifications
- **family**: Multispectral
- **requirements envelope**: {"kind":"spectral","spectral_range_nm":{"min":600,"max":900},"bands_min":2,"calibration_tier_min":"reflectance","snr_min":50,"daylight_required":true,"cloud_tolerant":false}
- **entity type**: methodology
- **last verified date**: 2026-05-22
- **verified by**: sw
- **claim status**: unclaimed
- **attributes**: {"family":"Multispectral","summary":"Derives vegetation health, density, and phenology indicators (NDVI, EVI, SAVI) from red and NIR band ratios; good for crop monitoring, deforestation alerts, and land cover change detection.","requirements_envelope":"{\"kind\":\"spectral\",\"spectral_range_nm\":{\"min\":600,\"max\":900},\"bands_min\":2,\"calibration_tier_min\":\"reflectance\",\"snr_min\":50,\"daylight_required\":true,\"cloud_tolerant\":false}"}
- **technology**: optical-spectral-sensing

## Editorial
Band-ratio indices from red (~660 nm) and NIR (~840 nm). NDVI saturates in dense canopies; EVI corrects for atmosphere and soil background noise. Implemented across the entire Landsat/Sentinel-2/MODIS fleet. [Wikipedia: Normalized difference vegetation index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalized_difference_vegetation_index)

## Sources
- [wikipedia] | Wikipedia: Normalized difference vegetation index | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalized_difference_vegetation_index | tier=community | accessed=2026-05-22

---
Source: https://eo-atlas.org/methodologies/vegetation-index-mapping
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)