Long-term (2008-2019) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from LISS III as a tool for predicting the...

In the Anthropocene, coastal ecosystems are rapidly changing to improve global ecosystem services. These changes lead to significant disruption of ecosystem functions and subsequent loss of ecosystem productivity. Remote sensing tools such as NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) is a widely accepted as a standard tool for monitoring vegetation health in terrestrial ecosystems; however, its application in predicting habitat disturbances in intertidal mudflats remains limited. In the present study, LISS III satellite imagery (2008-2019) was used to extract NDVI data for classifying intertidal areas along the Gujarat coast based on degree of disturbances (stable, moderately stable, and unstable). NDVI anomaly and aggregation index were further applied to infer sediment stability at each site. It was observed that lower NDVI and negative anomaly values were associated with reduced sediment stability, particularly at the disturbed site. Later, this site-wise habitat disturbance was further validated with the vertical distribution pattern of benthic macroinvertebrates as they play crucial role in benthic ecosystem functioning. Polychaetes as the most dominant macrobenthic group exhibited a clear vertical niche shift into deeper sediment strata under disturbed conditions. Hence, the study establishes NDVI as a potential tool to monitor habitat stability as well disturbances and identify respective ecological responses which can ultimately provide a scalable framework for coastal management and policy applications.