Assessment of the Impact of Covid-19 Related Containment on the Normalized Vegetation Index – A Remote Sensing Study of the Korifla Sub Watershed, Morocco

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of containment due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the vegetation cover of the Korifla sub-watershed, based on remote sensing data and spatial analysis. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of the containment imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on the vegetation cover and to highlight significant changes in the distribution of NDVI before and after the containment period, as well as to identify the areas most affected by these changes. The results highlight significant fluctuations in the distribution of vegetation cover, including a decrease in water area and variations in the categories of bare soil, sparse, medium-dense and dense vegetation. Using NDVI as an indicator of vegetation health, changes before and after the confinement period are highlighted. These results highlight the impact of anthropogenic disturbances such as confinement on plant ecosystems, and underline the importance of continuously monitoring vegetation cover for sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity preservation. With climatic conditions in Morocco stagnating in the two years following containment, the climatic factor is now set aside, and the focus shifts to the impact of reduced human activity.