An Ecological Assessment of the Louisiana Tensas River Basin Chapter 3 
Vegetation Change by Subwatershed 
Figure 3.14 shows the percentage of total NDVI change 
for all subwatersheds in the Tensas River Basin. All of 
the changes observed represent losses in vegetation. 
Vegetation loss shows a general pattern with the highest 
rate of change in subwatershed 8. Vegetation changes in 
subwatersheds 2, 3, and 4 are most likely due to farming 
practices of rotating crops. Lower vegetation changes 
can be noted in subwatersheds 6 and 7 due to the 
relative stability of the forests in those areas. The high 
loss in vegetation in subwatershed 8 is most likely due to 
forest loss in that area since 1972. Table 3.4 contains 
the numerical data of gains and loss by pixels and the 
percentage for each subwatershed. Similar patterns of 
vegetation changes were observed in Figure 3.9 which 
showed forest losses and gains based on classified 
NALC images. 
Tensas River Basin, Bottomland Hardwoods. 
Figure 3.13 
NDVI Change between 1972 and 1991/92 in the Tensas River Basin. 
Red = Loss and Green = Gain. 
