Vegetation indices (VIs) are a powerful way to translate optical measurements into meaningful plant traits. In practice, however, different crops, stress factors, growth stages, and research questions often call for different indices. There is no single “best” vegetation index — relevance always depends on the application.
Having access to more than 145 vegetation indices from a single ScanCorder VI-VNIR measurement does not mean using all of them at once. Instead, it provides flexibility: the right indices are already available when a project shifts focus, expands to additional crops, or explores new hypotheses. This is particularly valuable in research environments where multiple topics are addressed over time and comparability across experiments matters.
The Compolytics ScanCorder VI-VNIR is designed with this versatility in mind. A single scan delivers a rich optical data basis from which a wide range of established vegetation indices can be derived — enabling targeted analysis today and leaving room for new questions tomorrow.
The VIs of this list can be accessed both directly in the sensor’s user interface CICADA and via the free Compolytics R package.
| Name | Short Name | Wavelengths |
|---|---|---|
| Anthocyanin Reflectance Index 1 | ARI | 550, 700 |
| Anthocyanin Reflectance Index 2 | ARI2 | 550, 700, 800 |
| Simple Ratio 400/550, Blue Green Pigment Index-1 | BGI1 | 400, 550 |
| Simple Ratio 450/550, Blue Green Pigment Index | BGI2 | 450, 550 |
| Simple Ratio 400/690, Blue/Red pigment Index-1 | BRI1 | 400, 690 |
| Simple Ratio 450/690, Blue red pigment index | BRI2 | 450, 690 |
| Simple Ratio, Chlorophyll Absorbance Reflectance | CAR | 515, 570 |
| Carotenoid Reflectance Index 550 nm with NIR correction | CARgreen | 510, 550, 770 |
| Carotenoid Reflectance Index 700 nm with NIR correction | CARrededge | 510, 700, 770 |
| Chlorophyll/Carotenoid Index | CCI | 531, 645 |
| Simple Ratio 750/710, Zarco-Tejada and Miller (ZM), Combined Index | CI | 710, 750 |
| Carotenoid Reflectance Index 1 | CRI1 | 510, 550 |
| Carotenoid Reflectance Index 2 | CRI2 | 510, 700 |
| Simple Ratio 695/760, Carter2 | Ctr2 | 695, 760 |
| Simple Ratio 605/760, Carter3 | Ctr3 | 605, 760 |
| Simple Ratio 710/760, Carter4 | Ctr4 | 710, 760 |
| Simple Ratio 850/710, Datt2 | Datt2 | 710, 850 |
| Simple Ratio 754/704, Datt3 | Datt3 | 704, 754 |
| Datt4 | Datt4 | 550, 672, 708 |
| Simple Ratio 672/550, Datt5 | Datt5 | 550, 672 |
| Reflectance Band Ratio | Datt6 | 550, 708, 860 |
| Difference Index | DI | 550, 800 |
| Ratio of PRI to Simple Ratio | DRIpri | 531, 570, 670, 800 |
| Difference Vegetation Index | DVI | 680, 800 |
| Disease-Water Stress Index 4 | DWSI4 | 550, 680 |
| Enhanced Vegetation Index | EVI | 420:480, 640:760, 780:1400 |
| Enhanced Vegetation Index 2 | EVI2 | 640:760, 780:1400 |
| Simple Ratio 690/735, Fluorescence Ratio | FR | 690, 735 |
| Simple Ratio 690/740, Fluorescence Ratio 2 | FR2 | 690, 740 |
| Green Chlorophyll Index a | GCIa | 520:585, 780:1400 |
| Green Chlorophyll Index b | GCIb | 695:740, 780:1400 |
| Greenness Index 2 | GI | 554, 677 |
| Green Leaf Index | GLI | 420:480, 480:570, 640:760 |
| Gitelson and Merzlyak Index 1 | GM1 | 550, 750 |
| Simple Ratio 750/700, Gitelson and Merzlyak Index 2 | GM2 | 700, 750 |
| Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, GNDVIhyper2 | GNDVI[800,550] | 550, 800 |
| Simple Green Red Ratio, Green Red Vegetation Index | GR | 490:570, 640:760 |
| Simple Ratio, Green Difference Vegetation Index, Green Ratio Vegetation Index, Simple Ratio 1 | GRVI | 480:570, 780:1400 |
| Leaf Chlorophyll Index | LCI | 680, 710, 850 |
| Simple Ratio 690/440, Lichtenthaler indices 1 | Lic1 | 440, 690 |
| Simple Ratio 440/690, Lichtenthaler indices 2 | Lic2 | 440, 690 |
| Simple Ratio 440/740, Lichtenthaler indices 3 | Lic3 | 440, 740 |
| Ratio between MCARI and OSAVI 750 | MCARI/OSAVI750 | 550, 705, 750 |
| Modified Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index 1 | MCARI1 | 550, 670, 800 |
| Modified Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index 2 | MCARI2 | 550, 670, 800 |
| Modified Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index 705, 750 | MCARI705 | 550, 705, 750 |
| Modified Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index 710 | MCARI710 | 550, 710, 750 |
| Modified Green Red Vegetation Index | MGRVI | 490:570, 640:760 |
| Modified Normalized Difference Index | mNDI | 445, 705, 750 |
| Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (Hyper) | MSAVI | 670, 800 |
| Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index 1 | MSAVI1 | 640:760, 780:1400 |
| Modified Simple Ratio Index 1 | mSRI1 | 445, 705, 750 |
| Modified Simple Ratio 2 | mSRI2 | 670, 800 |
| Modified Simple Ratio NIR/RED | MSRNir/Red | 640:760, 780:1400 |
| Medium (MERIS) Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index | MTCI | 680, 710, 750 |
| Modified Transformed Vegetation Index, Modified Triangular Vegetation Index 1 | MTVI | 550, 670, 800 |
| Ratio between MTVI and MSAVI | MTVI/MSAVI | 550, 670, 800 |
| Modified Triangular Vegetation Index 2 | MTVI2 | 550, 670, 800 |
| Narrow-band normalized difference vegetation Index | NBNDVI | 680, 850 |
| Normalized Difference Index, Normalized Difference 800/680 Pigment specific normalised difference A2, Lichtenthaler indices 1, NDVIhyper | NDI | 680, 800 |
| Normalized Difference Red Edge Index | NDRE | 717, 840 |
| Normalized Difference Vegetation Index | NDVI | 620:670, 750:810 |
| Normalized Difference Vegetation Index 1 | NDVI1[760, 708] | 708, 760 |
| Normalized Difference Vegetation Index 2 | NDVI2[800, 600] | 600, 800 |
| Normalized Difference Vegetation Index 3, GNDVIhyper | NDVI3[780, 550] | 550, 780 |
| Normalized Difference Vegetation Index 4 | NDVI4[800, 700] | 700, 800 |
| Normalized Difference 750/550 Green NDVI | NDVIg | 550, 750 |
| Normalized green red difference index | NGRDI | 490:570, 640:760 |
| New Vegetation Index 1 (NVI1) | NVI1 | 673, 747, 777 |
| Optimal Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index | OSAVI | 670, 800 |
| Powdery Mildew Index (sugar beet) | PMI | 520, 584, 724 |
| Photochemical Reflectance Index | PRI | 531, 570 |
| Photochemical reflectance index | PRI570 | 531, 570 |
| Photochemical Reflectance Index | PRIm2 | 531, 600 |
| Photochemical Reflectance Index | PRIm3 | 531, 670 |
| Photochemical Reflectance Index | PRIm4 | 531, 570, 670 |
| Pigment Specific Normalized Difference 1 | PSND[800, 635] | 635, 800 |
| Normalized Difference 800/675, Pigment specific normalised difference A1 | PSNDa1 | 675, 800 |
| Normalized Difference 800/500, Pigment specific normalised difference C1 | PSNDc1 | 500, 800 |
| Plant Senescence Reflectance Index | PSRI | 500, 680, 750 |
| Simple Ratio, Pigment Specific, Optimized Vegetation Index 1 | PSSRa | 680, 800 |
| Simple Ratio 800/675, Pigment specific simple ratio A1 | PSSRa1 | 675, 800 |
| Simple Ratio 800/635, Moisture Stress Index, Pigment Specific Simple Ratio (Cholophyll b) | PSSRb | 635, 800 |
| Simple Ratio 800/650, Pigment specific simple ratio B1 | PSSRb1 | 650, 800 |
| Pigment Specific Simple Ratio C1 | PSSRc1 | 500, 800 |
| Red-Edge Model Index | R-M | 720, 750 |
| Ratio 675/700/650 | R675/700/650 | 650, 675, 700 |
| Simple Ratio 760/500, Ratio Analysis of Reflectance Spectra | RARS | 500, 760 |
| Re-normalized Difference Vegetation Index | RDVI | 670, 800 |
| Red Edge Normalized Difference Vegetation Index | reNDVI | 710, 750 |
| Relative Greenness Index | RGI | 550, 690 |
| Red/Green Index | RGR1 | 490:570, 640:760 |
| Red Green Ratio | RGR2 | 510, 560, 612, 660 |
| Simple Ratio 801/670, Pigment Specific 2, Ratio Vegetation Index, NIR/Red | RVI | 670, 801 |
| Ratio Vegetation Index 1 | RVI1 | 660, 810 |
| Disease-Water Stress Index 4 | RVI2 | 493, 678 |
| Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index, N-content (early-mid period) | SAVI | 670, 800 |
| Sugar Beet Rust Index | SBRI | 513, 570, 704 |
| Structure Independent Pigment Index | SIPI1 | 445, 670, 800 |
| Structure Intensive Pigment Index 1 | SIPI2 | 445, 680, 800 |
| Simple Ratio 520/670 | SR[520,670] | 520, 670 |
| Simple Ratio 520/760 | SR[520,760] | 520, 760 |
| Simple Ratio 542/750, Chl | SR[542,750] | 542, 750 |
| Simple Ratio 550/670 | SR[550,670] | 550, 670 |
| Simple Ratio 550/760 | SR[550,760] | 550, 760 |
| Simple Ratio 550/800 | SR[550,800] | 550, 800 |
| Simple Ratio 556/750, Chl-b | SR[556,750] | 556, 750 |
| Simple Ratio 560/658, GRVIhyper | SR[560,658] | 560, 658 |
| Simple Ratio 570/670, Greenness Index | SR[570,670] | 570, 670 |
| Simple Ratio 605/670 | SR[605,670] | 605, 670 |
| Simple Ratio 7 | SR[672,550,708] | 550, 672, 708 |
| Simple Ratio 672/708 | SR[672,708] | 672, 708 |
| Simple Ratio 674/553 | SR[674,553] | 553, 674 |
| Simple Ratio 675/555 | SR[675,555] | 555, 675 |
| Simple Ratio 675/700 | SR[675,700] | 675, 700 |
| Simple Ratio 675/705 | SR[675,705] | 675, 705 |
| Simple Ratio 678/750 | SR[678,750] | 678, 750 |
| Simple Ratio 683/510 | SR[683,510] | 510, 683 |
| Simple Ratio 685/735 | SR[685,735] | 685, 735 |
| Simple Ratio 694/840 | SR[694,840] | 694, 840 |
| Simple Ratio 695/800 | SR[695,800] | 695, 800 |
| Simple Ratio 700 | SR[700] | 700 |
| Simple Ratio 706/750, Chl-a | SR[706,750] | 706, 750 |
| Simple Ratio 750/705 | SR[750,705] | 705, 750 |
| Simple Ratio 752/690 | SR[752,690] | 690, 752 |
| Simple Ratio 760/695 | SR[760,695] | 695, 760 |
| Simple Ratio 774/677 | SR[774,677] | 677, 774 |
| Simple Ratio 800/550 | SR[800,550] | 550, 800 |
| Simple Ratio 800/600 | SR[800,600] | 600, 800 |
| Simple Ratio 801/550, NIR/Green | SR[801,550] | 550, 801 |
| Simple Ratio 810/560, Plant biochemical index | SR[810,560] | 560, 810 |
| Simple Ratio 833/658 | SR[833,658] | 658, 833 |
| Simple Ratio 860/550 | SR[860,550] | 550, 860 |
| Simple Ratio 860/708 | SR[860,708] | 708, 860 |
| Triangular Greenness Index (TGI) 1 | TGI1 | 420:480, 480:570, 640:760 |
| Triangular Greenness Index (TGI) 2 | TGI2 | 420:480, 480:570, 640:760 |
| Transformed Vegetation Index 1 | TVI1 | 640:760, 780:1400 |
| Transformed Vegetation Index, Triangular Vegetation Index | TVI2 | 550, 670, 750 |
| Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index | VARI | 480, 555, 680 |
| Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index | VARIgreen | 420:480, 480:570, 640:760 |
| Simple Ratio Pigment Specific 1 | VIopt1 | 730, 760 |
| Optimized Vegetation Index 2 | VIopt2 | 730, 760 |
| Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index alpha=0.05 | WDRVIa | 640:760, 780:1400 |
| Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index alpha=0.1 | WDRVIb | 640:760, 780:1400 |
| Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index alpha=0.2 | WDRVIc | 640:760, 780:1400 |
Download complete list: ScanCorder VI-VNIR Wavelengths (PDF, 550 kB)