SEASONAL VEGETATION COVER CHANGES AS INDICATORS OF SOIL TYPES ALONG A CLIMATOLOGICAL GRADIENT - A MUTUAL STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PATTERNS AND CONTROLS USING REMOTE-SENSING

A remote sensing analysis of the temporal changes of vegetation cover in the arid and semi-arid regions of the Judean Desert and Judean Mountains was carried out in order to reveal the controlling factor of the environmental system. Assessment of different combinations of temperal changes in the region using GIS techniques indicated that it is possible to differentiate between two major patterns of vegetation cover change. The classification of the region according to these patterns has produced a map that is highly correlated to the soil map of the region, thus suggesting that the soil is an important environmental controlling factor in the region. From the remote sensing point of view, the patterns of vegetation cover change may serve as indicators of soil types in similar arid and semi-arid environments.