Abuzarov et al. (2026) Vegetation Health Indicators of Groundwater Discharge: Integration of Sentinel-2 Remote Sensing and Meteorological Time Series in the Northern Apennines (Italy)

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Identification

• Journal: Sensors
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-02-26
• Authors: Murad Abuzarov, Stefano Segadelli, Duccio Rocchini, Marco Cantonati, Alessandro Gargini
• DOI: 10.3390/s26051464

Research Groups

Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Short Summary

This study evaluates the capability of Sentinel-2 derived vegetation indices to indicate groundwater discharge in forested mountainous areas. It found that during droughts, vegetation near springs exhibits significantly higher Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), demonstrating groundwater-supported resilience and serving as a reliable indicator for discharge likelihood.

Objective

• To evaluate the capability of multi-temporal vegetation indices derived from Sentinel-2 imagery to indicate groundwater discharge in a forested mountainous sector of the Northern Apennines (Italy).

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Forested mountainous sector of the Northern Apennines (Italy); Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m resolution; analysis within 100 m radius buffers around spring outlets and control points.
• Temporal Scale: Five growing seasons (2017–2021); analysis of recurrent summer droughts; aridity conditions quantified using long-term meteorological records.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI); Standardized Precipitation–Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI).
• Data sources: Sentinel-2 Level-2A surface reflectance data; long-term meteorological records.

Main Results

• During periods of negative SPEI (moderate-to-severe drought), spring-centered buffers consistently exhibited higher NDVI values than control sites.
• The NDVI contrast between spring-centered buffers and control sites increased under severe arid conditions.
• This pattern indicates enhanced vegetation resilience supported by shallow groundwater availability.
• Vegetation health anomalies, when constrained by homogeneous land cover and a consistent hydrogeological setting, can serve as indicators of groundwater discharge likelihood.

Contributions

• Provides a reproducible and cost-effective tool for hydrogeological reconnaissance and spring inventorying.
• Offers a valuable method for rugged mountainous environments where field-based surveys are logistically demanding.

Funding

Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Abuzarov2026Vegetation,
  author = {Abuzarov, Murad and Segadelli, Stefano and Rocchini, Duccio and Cantonati, Marco and Gargini, Alessandro},
  title = {Vegetation Health Indicators of Groundwater Discharge: Integration of Sentinel-2 Remote Sensing and Meteorological Time Series in the Northern Apennines (Italy)},
  journal = {Sensors},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/s26051464},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/s26051464}
}