Monitoring Waterlogging and Soil Salinity in Jhang from 2005 to 2025

Abstract

The comparison of vegetation and salinity indicators between 2005 and 2025 reveals notable environmental changes across the study area. The Modified Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (MNDVI) exhibited a wider range in 2025 (0.90 to -0.40) compared to 2005 (0.65 to -0.23), indicating greater spatial variability in vegetation conditions. The increase in the maximum MNDVI value from 0.65 to 0.90 suggests that certain areas experienced substantial improvement in vegetation density and health, likely due to enhanced agricultural practices, irrigation availability, or successful land management measures. Conversely, the decrease in the minimum value from -0.23 to -0.40 indicates that some locations remained devoid of vegetation or became more severely degraded, reflecting persistent barren land or waterlogged surfaces. Similarly, the Salinity Index (SI) showed a slight increase in the maximum value from 0.39 in 2005 to 0.42 in 2025, suggesting that localized zones of high soil salinity continued to persist or intensified over time. However, the minimum SI value declined significantly from 0.09 to 0.015, indicating a considerable reduction in salinity in less-affected areas. Overall, these changes suggest that while vegetation improved and salinity decreased across much of the study area, spatial disparities remain, with certain regions continuing to experience severe land degradation and salinity-related environmental stress.