Applying vegetation indices to detect high water table zones in humid warm-temperate regions using satellite remote sensing

Koide, Kaoru; Koike, Katsuaki*

This paper presents a method for detecting high water-table areas based on vegetation information in a humid warm-temperate forest area using remotely sensed data (SPOT). The purpose is to develop methodologies for characterizing hydrogeological structures at a regional scale. To detect differences in vegetation conditions due to groundwater supply, a new vegetation index (AgbNDVI) and a segmentation analysis based on geographical characteristics were proposed. A study area was selected in the Tono region of central Japan. As a result, most of the high-VI points are located on the concave/convex slopes, in the vicinity of geologic boundaries, around groundwater seeps and in high water-table areas. Therefore, high-VI points can be a crucial marker for estimating hydraulic properties of geologic structures and groundwater flow regime. Consequently, the proposed method can be an useful tool to detect high water-table areas in humid warm-temperate forest areas.