IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjopen/v6y2023i3p28-436d1202072.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Beyond Vegetation: A Review Unveiling Additional Insights into Agriculture and Forestry through the Application of Vegetation Indices

Author

Listed:
  • Sergio Vélez

    (Information Technology Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Raquel Martínez-Peña

    (Regional Institute of Agri-Food and Forestry Research and Development of Castilla-La Mancha (IRIAF), CIAG-“EL CHAPARRILLO”, Ctra. Porzuna km 4, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain)

  • David Castrillo

    (Regulatory Council for Organic Farming of the Principality of Asturias (COPAE), Avda. Prudencio Glez. 81, Posada de Llanera, 33424 Asturias, Spain)

Abstract

Vegetation indices (VIs) have long been a crucial tool for monitoring plant growth and health, assessing the impact of environmental factors on vegetation, and supporting decision-making processes in agriculture and forestry. Traditionally, these mathematical formulations, leveraging the spectral response of plants to sunlight, have been instrumental in assessing vegetation health. However, emerging research suggests some unconventional applications that extend the scope of VIs. This article surveys the traditional and novel uses of VIs in various fields, including other applications such as climate change studies, disaster management, or microorganism assessment. It underscores the value of VIs, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), or the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), in tracking climate-related shifts, mitigating the impact of disasters, assessing microbial terroir, organic production, and even aiding the wine industry. Nonetheless, despite their promise, the practical application of VIs also presents interpretational and technical challenges that need to be addressed. Hence, while the vast potential of VIs is underscored in this article, it also calls for continued technological advancements and research efforts to fully harness their benefits, ultimately aiding in the sustainable management of our environment. The objective of this review is not only to reflect on the current situation, but also to explore innovative and unconventional applications of vegetation indices. This involves anticipating the potential of this dynamic and rapidly advancing scientific tool, rather than solely following mainstream approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • Sergio Vélez & Raquel Martínez-Peña & David Castrillo, 2023. "Beyond Vegetation: A Review Unveiling Additional Insights into Agriculture and Forestry through the Application of Vegetation Indices," J, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjopen:v:6:y:2023:i:3:p:28-436:d:1202072
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8800/6/3/28/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8800/6/3/28/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dorijan Radočaj & Ante Šiljeg & Rajko Marinović & Mladen Jurišić, 2023. "State of Major Vegetation Indices in Precision Agriculture Studies Indexed in Web of Science: A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-16, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ouahiba Bouchama & Lounes Amar, 2025. "Monitoring surface water pollution in Algeria using database indices," Soil and Water Research, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 20(1), pages 43-51.
    2. Crismeire Isbaex & Ana Margarida Coelho & Ana Cristina Gonçalves & Adélia M. O. Sousa, 2024. "Mapping of Forest Species Using Sentinel-2A Images in the Alentejo and Algarve Regions, Portugal," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-21, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hwanjo Chung & Seunghwan Wi & Byoung-Kwan Cho & Hoonsoo Lee, 2024. "Classification of Garlic ( Allium sativum L.) Crops by Fertilizer Differences Using Ground-Based Hyperspectral Imaging System," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Roberto Colonna & Nicola Genzano & Emanuele Ciancia & Carolina Filizzola & Costanza Fiorentino & Paola D’Antonio & Valerio Tramutoli, 2024. "A Method to Determine the Optimal Period for Field-Scale Yield Prediction Using Sentinel-2 Vegetation Indices," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, November.
    3. Rahul Raj & Jeffrey P. Walker & Adinarayana Jagarlapudi, 2023. "Maize On-Farm Stressed Area Identification Using Airborne RGB Images Derived Leaf Area Index and Canopy Height," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-14, June.
    4. Peng Zheng & Xiaolan Zhang & Wenbin Pan, 2025. "Multi-Scale Analysis of Urban Greenspace Exposure and Equality: Insights from a Population-Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)-Weighted Model in the West Side Straits Urban Agglomeration," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-29, January.
    5. Dorijan Radočaj & Mateo Gašparović & Mladen Jurišić, 2024. "Open Remote Sensing Data in Digital Soil Organic Carbon Mapping: A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjopen:v:6:y:2023:i:3:p:28-436:d:1202072. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.