Author: geospatialsuite Development Team

# Vegetation Index Analysis with geospatialsuite

#### geospatialsuite Development Team

# Introduction

This vignette demonstrates comprehensive vegetation analysis using geospatialsuite’s 60+ vegetation indices. Learn to monitor plant health, detect stress, and analyze agricultural productivity.

## Loading Required Packages

    library(geospatialsuite)
    library(terra)

## Quick Start with Sample Data

    # Load sample spectral bands
    red <- load_sample_data("sample_red.rds")
    nir <- load_sample_data("sample_nir.rds")
    blue <- load_sample_data("sample_blue.rds")

    # Calculate NDVI using geospatialsuite
    ndvi <- calculate_vegetation_index(
      red = red,
      nir = nir,
      index_type = "NDVI"
    )

    # Visualize
    plot(ndvi, main = "Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)",
         col = terrain.colors(100))

# Understanding Vegetation Indices

## Common Vegetation Indices

### NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index)

    # Calculate NDVI with geospatialsuite
    ndvi <- calculate_vegetation_index(
      red = red,
      nir = nir,
      index_type = "NDVI"
    )

    # Summary statistics
    summary(values(ndvi))
    #>       NDVI
    #>  Min.   :0.4785
    #>  1st Qu.:0.6473
    #>  Median :0.7172
    #>  Mean   :0.7069
    #>  3rd Qu.:0.7725
    #>  Max.   :0.8752

    # Classify vegetation density
    vegetation_classes <- classify(ndvi,
      rcl = matrix(c(-Inf, 0.2, 1,
                     0.2, 0.6, 2,
                     0.6, Inf, 3),
                   ncol = 3, byrow = TRUE)
    )

    plot(vegetation_classes,
         main = "Vegetation Density Classes",
         col = c("brown", "yellow", "darkgreen"),
         legend = FALSE)
    legend("topright",
           legend = c("Sparse", "Moderate", "Dense"),
           fill = c("brown", "yellow", "darkgreen"))

### EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index)

    # Calculate EVI using geospatialsuite
    evi <- calculate_vegetation_index(
      red = red,
      nir = nir,
      blue = blue,
      index_type = "EVI"
    )

    # Compare NDVI and EVI
    par(mfrow = c(1, 2))
    plot(ndvi, main = "NDVI", col = terrain.colors(100))
    plot(evi, main = "EVI", col = terrain.colors(100))

    par(mfrow = c(1, 1))

### SAVI (Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index)

    # Calculate SAVI with geospatialsuite
    savi <- calculate_vegetation_index(
      red = red,
      nir = nir,
      index_type = "SAVI"
    )

    plot(savi, main = "Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI)",
         col = terrain.colors(100))

## Calculate Multiple Indices

    # geospatialsuite can calculate multiple indices at once
    indices <- calculate_multiple_indices(
      red = red,
      nir = nir,
      blue = blue,
      indices = c("NDVI", "EVI", "SAVI", "GNDVI", "NDRE"),
      output_stack = TRUE
    )

    # Plot all indices
    plot(indices, main = names(indices))

    # Access individual indices
    ndvi_layer <- indices$NDVI
    evi_layer <- indices$EVI

## Working with Multi-band Rasters

    # Load multi-band raster
    multiband <- load_sample_data("sample_multiband.rds")

    # Check available bands
    names(multiband)
    #> [1] "blue"  "green" "red"   "nir"   "swir1"

    # geospatialsuite's auto-detect feature
    ndvi_auto <- calculate_vegetation_index(
      spectral_data = multiband,
      index_type = "NDVI",
      auto_detect_bands = TRUE  # Automatically finds red and nir!
    )

    # Calculate multiple indices with auto-detection
    indices_auto <- calculate_multiple_indices(
      spectral_data = multiband,
      indices = c("NDVI", "EVI", "GNDVI"),
      auto_detect_bands = TRUE,
      output_stack = TRUE
    )

# Working with Satellite Imagery

## Loading and Processing Landsat Data

    # Use geospatialsuite with Landsat imagery

    # 1. Load Landsat bands using geospatialsuite
    landsat_bands <- load_raster_data(
      "landsat/LC08_L2SP_021033_20240715/",
      pattern = "SR_B[2-5].TIF$",
      verbose = TRUE
    )

    # geospatialsuite validates and loads all bands
    # Extract individual bands (assuming they're scaled to 0-1)
    blue <- landsat_bands[[1]]
    green <- landsat_bands[[2]]
    red <- landsat_bands[[3]]
    nir <- landsat_bands[[4]]

    # 2. Calculate indices using geospatialsuite
    # It has 60+ pre-programmed indices
    landsat_indices <- calculate_multiple_indices(
      red = red,
      nir = nir,
      blue = blue,
      green = green,
      indices = c("NDVI", "EVI", "SAVI", "GNDVI", "MSAVI", "OSAVI"),
      output_stack = TRUE
    )

    # 3. Visualize using geospatialsuite
    quick_map(landsat_indices$NDVI, title = "Landsat 8 NDVI")

## Processing Sentinel-2 Imagery

    # Use geospatialsuite with Sentinel-2

    # 1. Load Sentinel-2 bands using geospatialsuite
    s2_bands <- load_raster_data(
      "sentinel2/S2A_MSIL2A_20240715/GRANULE/.../IMG_DATA/R10m/",
      pattern = "*_B0[2-8]_10m.jp2$",
      verbose = TRUE
    )

    # geospatialsuite handles JPEG2000 format
    # Assuming bands are ordered: blue, green, red, nir
    # and scaled to 0-1

    # 2. Calculate comprehensive indices with geospatialsuite
    s2_indices <- calculate_multiple_indices(
      red = s2_bands[[3]],
      nir = s2_bands[[4]],
      blue = s2_bands[[1]],
      green = s2_bands[[2]],
      indices = c("NDVI", "EVI", "SAVI", "GNDVI", "NDMI"),
      output_stack = TRUE
    )

    # 3. Visualize
    quick_map(s2_indices$NDVI, title = "Sentinel-2 NDVI (10m)")

## Multi-Temporal Analysis

    # Track vegetation changes with geospatialsuite

    # Load imagery from different dates
    dates <- c("2024-05-01", "2024-06-01", "2024-07-01")
    ndvi_series <- list()

    for (date in dates) {
      # Load bands for each date using geospatialsuite
      bands <- load_raster_data(
        sprintf("satellite/%s/", date),
        pattern = "B[4-5].tif$"
      )

      red_date <- bands[[1]]
      nir_date <- bands[[2]]

      # Calculate NDVI using geospatialsuite
      ndvi_series[[date]] <- calculate_vegetation_index(
        red = red_date,
        nir = nir_date,
        index_type = "NDVI"
      )
    }

    # Stack time series
    ndvi_stack <- rast(ndvi_series)
    names(ndvi_stack) <- dates

    # Visualize temporal progression
    plot(ndvi_stack, main = paste("NDVI -", dates))

    # Calculate change
    ndvi_change <- ndvi_stack[[3]] - ndvi_stack[[1]]
    plot(ndvi_change,
         main = "NDVI Change (Jul - May)",
         col = colorRampPalette(c("red", "white", "green"))(100))

# Specialized Vegetation Indices

## Chlorophyll Content Indices

    # Green NDVI - sensitive to chlorophyll content
    green <- load_sample_data("sample_green.rds")

    # Calculate using geospatialsuite
    gndvi <- calculate_vegetation_index(
      green = green,
      nir = nir,
      index_type = "GNDVI"
    )

    plot(gndvi, main = "Green NDVI - Chlorophyll Indicator",
         col = colorRampPalette(c("white", "lightgreen", "darkgreen"))(100))

## Water Content Indices

    # Load SWIR band for water content analysis
    swir1 <- load_sample_data("sample_swir1.rds")

    # NDMI using geospatialsuite
    ndmi <- calculate_vegetation_index(
      nir = nir,
      swir1 = swir1,
      index_type = "NDMI"
    )

    plot(ndmi, main = "Vegetation Water Content (NDMI)",
         col = colorRampPalette(c("brown", "yellow", "blue"))(100))

# Advanced Analysis

## Zonal Statistics

    # Load sample boundary
    boundary <- load_sample_data("sample_boundary.rds")

    # Calculate NDVI using geospatialsuite
    ndvi <- calculate_vegetation_index(red = red, nir = nir, index_type = "NDVI")

    # Extract statistics for the region
    stats <- terra::extract(ndvi, vect(boundary), fun = function(x) {
      c(mean = mean(x, na.rm = TRUE),
        sd = sd(x, na.rm = TRUE),
        min = min(x, na.rm = TRUE),
        max = max(x, na.rm = TRUE))
    })

    print(stats)
    #>      ID     NDVI     NDVI.1    NDVI.2    NDVI.3
    #> [1,]  1 0.706874 0.08445837 0.4784537 0.8752122

## Field-Level Analysis

    # Load sample field points
    field_points <- load_sample_data("sample_points.rds")

    # Calculate NDVI using geospatialsuite
    ndvi <- calculate_vegetation_index(red = red, nir = nir, index_type = "NDVI")

    # Extract using geospatialsuite's spatial join
    field_ndvi <- universal_spatial_join(
      source_data = field_points,
      target_data = ndvi,
      method = "extract"
    )

    # View results
    head(field_ndvi)
    #> Simple feature collection with 6 features and 7 fields
    #> Geometry type: POINT
    #> Dimension:     XY
    #> Bounding box:  xmin: -83.94662 ymin: 39.00987 xmax: -83.91607 ymax: 39.09223
    #> Geodetic CRS:  WGS 84
    #>   site_id  ndvi   evi crop_type elevation_m soil_moisture
    #> 1 SITE_01 0.593 0.274  soybeans         269          0.27
    #> 2 SITE_02 0.660 0.485     wheat         283          0.28
    #> 3 SITE_03 0.646 0.579      corn         211          0.21
    #> 4 SITE_04 0.388 0.483   pasture         256          0.31
    #> 5 SITE_05 0.776 0.588      corn         219          0.35
    #> 6 SITE_06 0.645 0.539  soybeans         205          0.30
    #>                     geometry extracted_NDVI
    #> 1 POINT (-83.94662 39.04604)      0.7709993
    #> 2 POINT (-83.94162 39.00987)      0.7667765
    #> 3 POINT (-83.94104 39.02066)      0.7647660
    #> 4  POINT (-83.9309 39.09223)      0.7207893
    #> 5 POINT (-83.93327 39.03194)      0.6405917
    #> 6 POINT (-83.91607 39.02653)      0.7215534

## Working with Real Field Data

    # Complete field analysis workflow with geospatialsuite

    library(sf)

    # 1. Load field boundaries
    fields <- sf::st_read("farm_data/field_boundaries.shp")

    # 2. Load and process satellite data using geospatialsuite
    satellite_bands <- load_raster_data(
      "satellite/imagery/",
      pattern = "B[2-5].tif$"
    )

    # 3. Calculate indices using geospatialsuite
    indices <- calculate_multiple_indices(
      red = satellite_bands[[3]],
      nir = satellite_bands[[4]],
      blue = satellite_bands[[1]],
      green = satellite_bands[[2]],
      indices = c("NDVI", "EVI", "GNDVI", "SAVI"),
      output_stack = TRUE
    )

    # 4. Extract to fields using geospatialsuite
    fields_with_indices <- universal_spatial_join(
      source_data = fields,
      target_data = indices,
      method = "extract"
    )

    # geospatialsuite extracted all 4 indices
    # Each field now has mean NDVI, EVI, GNDVI, SAVI
    names(fields_with_indices)

    # 5. Visualize using geospatialsuite
    quick_map(fields_with_indices, variable = "NDVI")

# List Available Indices

    # View all available vegetation indices in geospatialsuite
    all_indices <- list_vegetation_indices()

    # Show first few indices
    head(all_indices[, c("Index", "Category", "Description", "Required_Bands")], 10)
    #>    Index Category                              Description Required_Bands
    #> 1   NDVI    basic   Normalized Difference Vegetation Index       Red, NIR
    #> 2   SAVI    basic           Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index       Red, NIR
    #> 3  MSAVI    basic  Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index       Red, NIR
    #> 4  OSAVI    basic Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index       Red, NIR
    #> 5    EVI    basic                Enhanced Vegetation Index Red, NIR, Blue
    #> 6   EVI2    basic       Two-band Enhanced Vegetation Index       Red, NIR
    #> 7    DVI    basic              Difference Vegetation Index       Red, NIR
    #> 8    RVI    basic                   Ratio Vegetation Index       Red, NIR
    #> 9  GNDVI    basic                               Green NDVI     Green, NIR
    #> 10  WDVI    basic     Weighted Difference Vegetation Index       Red, NIR

    # Filter by category
    health_indices <- all_indices[all_indices$Category == "basic", ]
    print(health_indices[, c("Index", "Description")])
    #>    Index                              Description
    #> 1   NDVI   Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
    #> 2   SAVI           Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index
    #> 3  MSAVI  Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index
    #> 4  OSAVI Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index
    #> 5    EVI                Enhanced Vegetation Index
    #> 6   EVI2       Two-band Enhanced Vegetation Index
    #> 7    DVI              Difference Vegetation Index
    #> 8    RVI                   Ratio Vegetation Index
    #> 9  GNDVI                               Green NDVI
    #> 10  WDVI     Weighted Difference Vegetation Index

# Best Practices

## Index Selection Guidelines

1. NDVI: General vegetation monitoring
2. EVI: Dense vegetation, atmospheric correction
3. SAVI: Sparse vegetation, early growth
4. GNDVI: Chlorophyll content, nitrogen status
5. NDMI: Water stress detection

## Data Quality Considerations

    # Check for valid value ranges
    ndvi <- calculate_vegetation_index(red = red, nir = nir, index_type = "NDVI")

    # NDVI should be between -1 and 1
    ndvi_stats <- global(ndvi, fun = "range", na.rm = TRUE)
    cat("NDVI range:", ndvi_stats[1,1], "to", ndvi_stats[2,1], "\n")
    #> NDVI range: 0.4784537 to NA

# Summary

This vignette covered:

- Using geospatialsuite’s `calculate_vegetation_index()` for 60+ indices
- Using `calculate_multiple_indices()` for batch processing
- Auto band detection with `auto_detect_bands = TRUE`
- Loading satellite data with `load_raster_data()`
- Spatial extraction with `universal_spatial_join()`
- Multi-temporal analysis workflows
- Field-level analysis
- Best practices for index selection

geospatialsuite simplifies vegetation analysis with:

- Pre-programmed indices
- Automatic band detection
- Robust error handling
- Simple, consistent API

For more information:

- Agricultural Applications with geospatialsuite
- Complete Workflows and Case Studies
- Getting Started with geospatialsuite