Vegetation discrimination analysis from Göktürk-2 imagery

Remote Sensing is multi-disciplinary science, which provides important coverage, mapping and classification of land cover features, such as vegetation, soil, water and forests. Vegetation is important as it provides a basic foundation for all living beings. Classifying vegetation is so valuable that people can determine vegetation distribution and occurrence. Remote sensing can also be used to detect and prevent the spread of damaged and stressed plants. Satellite imageries are capable of performing these type of vegetation analysis. On 18 December 2012, the first domestic high resolution reconnaissance and surveillance satellite of Turkey, Göktürk-2 was launched and started to meet the high resolution image requirements of Turkish Armed Forces and also has become a data source for scientific activities such as control of forestland, tracking illegal construction, rapid assessment of damage after natural disasters, determination of agricultural boundaries and geographical data gathering [1]. The purpose of this study is to test vegetation discrimination performance of the first domestic high resolution reconnaissance and surveillance satellite of Turkey Göktürk-2 imagery and compare results with Landsat-8 imagery.