Supported Vegetation Indices
Vegetation indices are mathematical combinations of spectral bands that help highlight specific properties of plants — such as vigor, chlorophyll content, or canopy cover. By comparing reflectance values from different parts of the spectrum (for example, red and near-infrared), these indices make it easier to visualize crop health and identify subtle variations that might not be visible in standard imagery. They are widely used in agricultural research to monitor growth, assess stress, and quantify biomass or chlorophyll levels across trials.
Below is a list of vegetation indices available in Solvi’s database. These can be added to any account on the Professional or Enterprise plan. If you’re looking for an index that isn’t included yet, simply share its name and formula with us — we’ll be happy to add it to your workspace. Once added, the indices will become available in the Plant Health, Zonal Statistics and PlantAI tool and will appear automatically depending on which bands are available in the specific Upload.
🌾 RGB Indices (Red, Green, and Blue bands only)
| Index | Full Name | Bands Required | Formula | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIVE | Colour Index of Vegetation Extraction | Red, Green, Blue | (0.441R - 0.881G + 0.385B + 18.78745) / (R + G + B) | Separates vegetation from soil and non-vegetation using color ratios. Designed for consistent vegetation detection in varying light conditions. |
| COM | Combined Index | Red, Green, Blue | 0.25×EXG + 0.3×ExGR + 0.33×CIVE + 0.12×VEG | Combines several RGB vegetation indices (EXG, ExGR, CIVE, VEG) into a single, more stable indicator of vegetation presence. |
| EXG | Excess Green Index | Red, Green, Blue | 2G - R - B (normalized RGB) | Emphasizes the green component to distinguish vegetation from soil and other surfaces. Simple and effective for RGB drone imagery. |
| EXGR | Excess Green minus Excess Red | Red, Green, Blue | EXG - 1.4R - G | Improves EXG by accounting for red intensity, enhancing separation between vegetation and non-vegetation. |
| GLI | Green Leaf Index | Red, Green, Blue | (2G - R - B) / (2G + R + B) | Normalized RGB index highlighting vegetation pixels. Works well in environments with changing illumination. |
| GLI-MASK | GLI Mask | Red, Green, Blue | GLI > 0.05 | Applies a vegetation mask threshold to GLI output to classify vegetation pixels. Commonly used for automatic canopy extraction. |
| HR-FI | High-Resolution Flowering Index | Red, Green, Blue | (R - B) × (G - B) | Detects flowering in crops via RGB color contrasts. Useful for phenotyping and identifying reproductive growth stages. |
| LCI-LESION | Lesion Color Index | Red, Green, Blue | (R - G) / √(R² + G² + B²) | Highlights discolored (lesioned) plant tissue in RGB imagery. Helpful for early detection of diseases or nutrient deficiencies. |
| MYI | Modified Yellowness Index | Red, Green, Blue | (R × G) / B | Indicates yellowing and senescence by combining red and green reflectance relative to blue. Useful in stress detection. |
| NGRDI | Normalized Green-Red Difference Index | Red, Green | (G - R) / (G + R) | NDVI-like index using RGB only. Highlights vegetative areas in low-cost camera imagery. |
| RBNI | Red Blue Normalizing Index | Red, Blue | (R - B) / (R + B) | Highlights vegetation regions based on contrast between red and blue reflectance. Useful in RGB imagery classification. |
| TGI | Triangular Greenness Index | Red, Green, Blue | -0.5 × ((1 - qlb)(R - G) - (1 - qlg)(R - B)), with qlg=550/670, qlb=480/670 | Estimates chlorophyll using RGB band geometry. Correlates with greenness and plant vigor when multispectral data isn’t available. |
| VARI | Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index | Red, Green, Blue | (G - R) / (G + R - B) | RGB-only vegetation index that reduces sensitivity to atmospheric scattering. Ideal for low-altitude RGB drone imagery. |
| VEG | Vegetative Index | Red, Green, Blue | G / (R^0.667 × B^0.333) | Enhances vegetation areas using nonlinear color ratios. Performs well for canopy detection under diverse conditions. |
🌿 Multispectral Indices (include NIR, Red Edge, or Thermal bands)
| Index | Full Name | Bands Required | Formula | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI1 | Anthocyanin Reflectance Index 1 | Red edge, Green | (1 / G) - (1 / E) | Sensitive to anthocyanin pigments, which increase under stress or senescence. Useful for assessing pigment concentration in leaves and identifying stressed vegetation. |
| ARI2 | Anthocyanin Reflectance Index 2 | NIR, Red edge, Green | NIR × ((1 / G) - (1 / E)) | Extension of ARI1 that scales reflectance with NIR, improving canopy-level pigment detection. Often used for mapping anthocyanin in high-density canopies. |
| BNDVI | Blue Normalized Difference Vegetation Index | NIR, Blue | (NIR - B) / (NIR + B) | NDVI variant using the blue band instead of red, reducing saturation in dense vegetation and emphasizing chlorophyll activity. |
| EVI | Enhanced Vegetation Index | NIR, Red, Blue | 2.5 × (NIR - R) / (NIR + 6R - 7.5B + 1) | Improves NDVI by reducing soil and atmospheric noise, especially in dense vegetation. |
| ENDVI | Enhanced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index | NIR, Green, Blue | (NIR + G - 2B) / (NIR + G + 2B) | Enhances vegetation detection with green and blue bands; reduces shadow and lighting effects. |
| GCI | Green Chlorophyll Index | NIR, Green | (NIR / G) - 1 | Estimates leaf chlorophyll and canopy nitrogen. Widely used for precision nutrient management. |
| GNDVI | Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index | NIR, Green | (NIR - G) / (NIR + G) | NDVI variant using the green band; better for chlorophyll monitoring in dense crops. |
| GOSAVI | Green Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index | NIR, Green | (NIR - G) / (NIR + G + 0.16) | Soil-adjusted version of GNDVI. Improves vegetation detection in partial canopy cover. |
| ISRRE | Inverted Simple Ratio Red Edge | NIR, Red edge | E / NIR | Inverse of SRRE; low values indicate healthy vegetation. |
| LAI | Leaf Area Index | NIR, Red, Blue | 3.618 × EVI - 0.118 | Estimates total leaf area per unit ground area. |
| LCI | Leaf Chlorophyll Index | Red, Red edge, NIR | (NIR - E) / (NIR + R) | Sensitive to leaf chlorophyll; effective for nitrogen and stress assessment. |
| MCARI | Modified Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index | Red, Green, Red edge | ((E - R) - 0.2(E - G)) × (E / R) | Sensitive to chlorophyll absorption; helps detect subtle pigment variations. |
| NDRE | Normalized Difference Red Edge | NIR, Red edge | (NIR - E) / (NIR + E) | Red-edge variant of NDVI. More sensitive to chlorophyll and less prone to saturation. |
| NDVI | Normalized Difference Vegetation Index | NIR, Red | (NIR - R) / (NIR + R) | The most widely used vegetation index. Correlates with biomass, canopy cover, and photosynthetic activity. |
| NDWI | Normalized Difference Water Index | NIR, Green | (G - NIR) / (G + NIR) | Sensitive to leaf and canopy water content; used for drought and water stress detection. |
| OSAVI | Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index | NIR, Red | (1 + 0.16) × (NIR - R) / (NIR + R + 0.16) | NDVI variant optimized for soil correction. Useful in sparse or heterogeneous canopies. |
| SAVI | Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index | NIR, Red | 1.5 × (NIR - R) / (NIR + R + 0.5) | Corrects NDVI for soil brightness effects, improving accuracy in sparse vegetation or early growth. |
| SCCCI | Simplified Canopy Chlorophyll Content Index | NIR, Red edge, Red | NDRE / NDVI | Combines NDRE and NDVI to estimate canopy chlorophyll content. |
| SRRE | Simple Ratio Red Edge | NIR, Red edge | NIR / E | Red-edge-based ratio index sensitive to canopy chlorophyll and nitrogen. |
| TDVI | Transformed Difference Vegetation Index | NIR, Red | √(0.5 + (NIR - R) / (NIR + R)) | Nonlinear NDVI variant reducing illumination sensitivity. |
| THERMAL | Thermal | Thermal | (DN / 100) - 273.15 | Converts raw thermal data to °C for monitoring crop temperature and water stress. |
| WDRVI | Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index | NIR, Red | (0.2NIR - R) / (0.2NIR + R) | Reduces NDVI saturation in dense canopies, improving sensitivity across growth stages. |
| WDVI | Weighted Difference Vegetation Index | NIR, Red | NIR - 1.8R | Linear soil-adjusted index; useful for sparse vegetation. |