Sentinel-2 Spectral Indices

Most commonly used vegetation index to assess plant health and density. Values range from -1 to 1, with higher values indicating healthier vegetation.

The Anthocyanin Reflectance Index (ARI) was developed by Gitelson et al. to non-destructively estimate anthocyanin content in plant leaves. It isolates the anthocyanin absorption peak around 550nm by subtracting the 700nm band that reflects only chlorophyll. ARI is particularly useful for monitoring plant stress, senescence, and physiological status.

The Modified Anthocyanin Reflectance Index (mARI or ARI2) is an enhanced version of ARI that corrects for leaf density and thickness by incorporating a near-infrared band. This modification improves the accuracy of anthocyanin estimation by accounting for leaf scattering properties.

Blue Green Pigment Index (BGI) is a simple ratio index that compares reflectance in the blue (450nm) and green (550nm) regions of the spectrum. It is used to assess plant pigment content, particularly useful for detecting changes in chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations that affect blue and green light absorption.

The Brightness Index (BI) is a remote sensing index used to assess soil brightness, which is highly correlated with soil moisture, salt content, and organic matter. Developed by Mathieu and Escadafal, it provides valuable information about soil properties and fertility. As brightness increases, soil fertility typically decreases.

The Second Brightness Index (BI2) is an enhanced version of the Brightness Index that includes the near-infrared band in addition to red and green bands. Developed by Escadafal and Huete, it provides improved assessment of soil properties, particularly soil organic carbon content and moisture levels.

A vegetation index that uses blue instead of red bands. BNDVI can be useful in situations where the red band is saturated or when assessing vegetation in water bodies where blue light penetrates better.

Blue Near-Infrared Reflectance of Vegetation - A spectral index for vegetation applications.

A blue-based variant of WDRVI that uses blue instead of red bands. This index maintains sensitivity at high biomass levels while using the blue spectral region, which can be advantageous in certain applications.

A simple chlorophyll index using the ratio of NIR to red edge reflectance minus 1. This index is sensitive to chlorophyll content variations and is useful for LAI estimation.

The Coloration Index (CI) was developed by Pouget et al. (1990) to characterize soil color properties in arid and semi-arid regions. Low CI values correlate with high concentrations of carbonates or sulfates, while higher values correlate with crusted soils and sands. The index helps monitor surface degradation and infiltrability variations.

Chlorophyll Index RedEdge 710 is a spectral index designed to assess chlorophyll content in vegetation, focusing on the red-edge spectral region. It utilizes the red-edge position to provide sensitive measurements of vegetation chlorophyll status.

Simple vegetation index calculating the ratio of near-infrared to red reflectance. One of the earliest vegetation indices, useful for biomass estimation and vegetation analysis.

Improved vegetation index that reduces atmospheric and soil background effects. More sensitive to vegetation changes than NDVI.

Geological index for detecting ferric iron (Fe3+) concentrations in rocks and soils. Useful for lithologic mapping and identifying iron-rich mineral formations.

Non-linear vegetation index designed for global vegetation monitoring from satellites. Less sensitive to soil background variations compared to NDVI and provides enhanced discrimination of vegetation states.

Vegetation index that uses green wavelengths instead of red to assess vegetation characteristics. More sensitive to chlorophyll content and can be useful for detecting stress in dense vegetation canopies.

Color index representing the dominant wavelength in visible spectrum. Used for color analysis and classification of materials based on their spectral hue characteristics.

Color brightness measure representing the total reflectance across visible bands. Used for overall brightness analysis and intensity-based classification.

Enhanced vegetation index that combines simple ratio and NDVI approaches. Provides improved sensitivity to vegetation changes and reduced soil background effects.

Vegetation index designed to estimate chlorophyll content with reduced sensitivity to non-photosynthetic vegetation and soil background effects.

Modified Chlorophyll Absorption Ratio Index 710 is designed to measure chlorophyll content in vegetation. It provides a method to estimate chlorophyll content by comparing reflectance at different wavelengths, particularly in the red and near-infrared regions of the spectrum.

MCARI/OSAVI750 is a vegetation index that combines the Modified Chlorophyll Absorption Ratio Index with the Optimized Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index using red-edge bands. It is specifically designed to estimate chlorophyll content using the 750nm band instead of traditional NIR bands.

Modified Normalized Difference (705, 750 and 445 nm) - A spectral index for vegetation applications.

Modified Simple Ratio (705 and 445 nm) - A spectral index for vegetation applications.

Modified Simple Ratio 705,750 is a vegetation index that uses the red-edge spectral region to assess vegetation characteristics, particularly chlorophyll content. It calculates the normalized difference between reflectance at 750nm and 705nm wavelengths.

The most widely used vegetation index for assessing vegetation health, density, and photosynthetic activity. Classic formulation using standard red and near-infrared bands.

Normalized Green Red Difference Index for vegetation applications

Non-Homogeneous Feature Difference for urban applications

Near-Infrared Reflectance of Vegetation for vegetation applications

Hyperspectral Near-Infrared Reflectance of Vegetation for vegetation applications

Near-Infrared Reflectance of Vegetation and Incoming PAR for vegetation applications

A vegetation index that uses a nonlinear relationship between NIR and red bands to reduce the saturation effect at high biomass levels. The squared NIR term helps maintain sensitivity to vegetation changes in dense canopies.

Normalized Green for vegetation applications

Normalized NIR for vegetation applications

Normalized Red for vegetation applications

Optimized Chlorophyll Vegetation Index for vegetation applications

OSAVI2 is a variant of the Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index that uses red-edge bands (750nm and 705nm) instead of traditional NIR and red bands. This modification improves sensitivity to vegetation changes while maintaining the soil brightness correction factor of 0.16, making it particularly effective for vegetation monitoring in areas with variable soil backgrounds.

Oil Spill Index for water applications

Plastic Index for water applications

Perpendicular Impervious Surface Index for urban applications

Red Chromatic Coordinate for vegetation applications

Red-Edge Disease Stress Index for vegetation applications

An index that calculates the red edge inflection point, which is the wavelength of maximum slope in the red edge region. REIP is sensitive to chlorophyll content and vegetation stress.

A variant of the red edge inflection point calculation using slightly different wavelengths. This index provides an alternative measurement of the red edge position for chlorophyll assessment.

A normalized difference vegetation index using red edge bands instead of traditional red and NIR. This index is particularly sensitive to chlorophyll content and vegetation stress.

Red-Edge Position Linear Interpolation (REP) is a spectral index that detects the red-edge position through linear interpolation. The red-edge position is a key indicator of vegetation health, chlorophyll content, and plant stress, representing the inflection point between red absorption and NIR reflectance.

Red Green Blue Vegetation Index for vegetation applications

Red-Green Ratio Index for vegetation applications

SPOT HRV XS-based Redness Index 4 for soil applications

Reversed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index for water applications

Sentinel-2 Red-Edge Position for vegetation applications

Soil Adjusted and Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index for vegetation applications

A spectral index that calculates the color saturation by comparing the maximum and minimum RGB values. Used for analyzing vegetation characteristics and spectral indices for degradation of natural environments.

Vegetation index that minimizes soil brightness influences. The L factor is typically set to 0.5 for moderate vegetation cover.

Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index 2 for vegetation applications

Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index Thermal for burn applications

Sentinel-2 LAI Green Index for vegetation applications

Shadow-Eliminated Vegetation Index for vegetation applications

Shadow Index for vegetation applications

Structure Insensitive Pigment Index for vegetation applications

SWIR-enhanced Near-Infrared Reflectance of Vegetation for LSWI - A spectral index for vegetation applications.

Simple Ratio for vegetation applications

Simple Ratio (800 and 550 nm) for vegetation applications

Simple Ratio (860, 550 and 708 nm) for vegetation applications

Simple Ratio (555 and 750 nm) for vegetation applications

Simple Ratio (705 and 750 nm) for vegetation applications

An index designed to estimate vegetation chlorophyll content while minimizing the effects of leaf area index. TCARI is particularly useful for precision agriculture and crop health monitoring.

TCARI/OSAVI 705,750 is a modified version of the TCARI/OSAVI index that uses the red-edge bands at 705nm and 750nm instead of traditional red and NIR bands. This modification improves sensitivity to chlorophyll content estimation while reducing the influence of leaf area index and soil background.

TCARI/OSAVI Ratio for vegetation applications

TCARI/OSAVI Ratio (705 and 750 nm) for vegetation applications

Transformed Triangular Vegetation Index - A spectral index for vegetation applications.

The Triangular Vegetation Index (TVI) was developed by Broge and Hansen (2000) based on the triangular area formed by green peak, near-infrared shoulder, and chlorophyll absorption minimum. TVI is sensitive to both chlorophyll content and LAI, capturing radiative energy absorbed by pigments and providing improved retrieval accuracy with reduced saturation effects.

A vegetation index that uses the triangular area formed by green, red, and red-edge reflectance values. It is sensitive to leaf chlorophyll content and is particularly useful for estimating green LAI.

Triangle Water Index - A spectral index for water applications.

Urban Index - A spectral index for urban applications.

The Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index (VARI) is designed to emphasize vegetation in the visible portion of the spectrum while mitigating illumination differences and atmospheric effects. It evaluates the 'greenness' in plants using only visible light bands, making it ideal for standard RGB cameras without requiring specialized multispectral sensors.

Visible Green-Based Built-Up Index - A spectral index for urban applications.

VI6T Index - A spectral index for burn applications.

A simple ratio vegetation index using red edge wavelengths to assess vegetation health and chlorophyll content. The ratio of 715nm to 705nm provides information about the red edge position and slope.

A vegetation index designed to improve sensitivity for moderate to high biomass conditions where traditional NDVI saturates. The weighting factor (0.1) enhances the dynamic range of the vegetation signal.

A vegetation index that accounts for soil background by using a weighted difference between NIR and red bands. The weight parameter 'a' is the slope of the soil line, typically derived from bare soil measurements.

Water Index 1 - A spectral index for water applications.

Water Index 2 - A spectral index for water applications.