Landsat Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
Landsat Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is used to quantify vegetation greenness and is useful in understanding vegetation density and assessing changes in plant health.
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Landsat Surface Reflectance-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) products are produced from Landsat 4–5 Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 8-9* Operational Land Imager (OLI)/Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) Collection 1 and Collection 2 scenes that have been processed to Landsat Level-2 Surface Reflectance products. *Landsat 9 = Collection 2 only
NDVI is used to quantify vegetation greenness and is useful in understanding vegetation density and assessing changes in plant health. NDVI is calculated as a ratio between the red (R) and near infrared (NIR) values in traditional fashion:
(NIR - R) / (NIR + R)
In Landsat 4-7, NDVI = (Band 4 – Band 3) / (Band 4 + Band 3).
In Landsat 8-9, NDVI = (Band 5 – Band 4) / (Band 5 + Band 4).
NDVI is delivered as a single band product, specified as shown in the table below.
Landsat Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Specifications
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Long Name | Normalized Difference Vegetation Index |
| Short Name | LC8NDVI, LE7NDVI, LT5NDVI, or LT4NDVI |
| File Name | *_sr_ndvi.tif |
| Data Type | Signed 16-bit Integer |
| Units | Spectral Index (Band Ratio) |
| Valid Range | -10,000 — 10,000 |
| Fill Value | Collection 2: -19999 Collection 1: -9999 |
| Saturate Value | 20,000 |
| Scale Factor | *0.0001 |
Data Access
Landsat Surface Reflectance-derived NDVI are produced on-demand, using the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center Science Processing Architecture (ESPA) On Demand Interface.
Visit the Landsat Surface Reflectance-derived Spectral Indices page for information on product constraints, citation, and reference information.