THE NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX AS AN INDICATOR OF DYNAMICS

Mediterranean ecosystems are considered particularly sensitive to climate change. Any change in climatic factors affects the structure and functioning of these ecosystems and has an influence on plant productivity. The main objective of this work is to characterize one of the Mediterranean ecosystems; the Chettaba forest massif (located in the North-East of Algeria) from a vegetation point of view and their link with monthly variations using Landsat 8 satellite images from five different dates (June 25, 2017, July 27, 2017, August 28, 2017, October 15, 2017). The comparison of NDVI values in Aleppo pine trees was performed using analysis of variance and the use of Friedman's non-parametric test. The Mann-Kendall statistical method was applied to the monthly distribution of NDVI values to detect any trends in the data over the study period. The statistical results of NDVI of Aleppo pine trees indicate that the maximum value is recorded in the month of June, while the lowest values are observed in the month of August where the species studied is exposed to periods of thermal stress.