Change detection method for pasture degradation using RGB color composite image of multitemporal Landsat TM - A case study of the Inner Mongolian settlement region

This study was performed at Abag banner in Inner Mongolia. Two Landsat TM data were acquired separately in 1989 and 2011 over the study area. Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) were derived from reflectance spectra, and applied to compare the green vegetation cover. The change detection result show that there is a large change in land cover, and most vegetation decreasing area was located overgrazing pasture area. During past 22-years, about 36.3% of the area was decreased in vegetation. Our result also indicated that vegetation cover change can be observed using satellite data. And the analysis of vegetation trends in land cover change using remote sensing change detection is a useful method to document the human impacts on ecosystems.