**3.1 RGB image (orthophotos)**

**Figure 2** shows the true color composition (RGB), with excellent results in image reconstruction. Bare soil, in the southern west part of the image, is clearly differentiated, as well as early-stage crops in the central part and varied crops at different times of phenological development in the Eastern area. It stands out to the north, a banana crop in production stage with small spaces Inter crops without any protection to the soil.

The image shows very clearly the presence of a bare soil in preparation for cultivation, as well as an association of crops (banana and cocoa) in the initial state, where the development of the foliar area is still incipient and much of the soil is exposed to the watering processes. It is important to highlight that soil exposure to erosive processes, in this type of coverage should gradually decrease until very dense coverage in the medium term. It also highlights the presence of the low soil protection classes in the interplant areas of the Banana Monoculture, the alleys between the rows of the annual crop, and a specific area of fruit trees.

It is also evident specifically in areas of shrubs with the presence of tall grass and low-development trees, medium soil protection against erosive processes and a type of coverage, which represents the marginal areas of the different plant cover where good soil protection of erosive processes is initiated. This coverage is characterized by a perimeter appearance in permanent annual crops.

Good soil protection is characterized by the presence of dense vegetation and corresponds, in general, to foliar development in banana monoculture. Its expression is also very powerful in the branches of tall trees, represented in a rounded


**Table 3.** *Types of coverage over the study area.* *RGB Spectral Indices for the Analysis of Soil Protection by Vegetation Cover against Erosive… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95055*

shape in the image. Likewise, they also represent this coverage in specific areas protected by small cocoa trees in the initial state of the associated crop.

There is a significant presence of two covers, with high capacity to protect the soil against erosive processes. For this particular case represented by dense forest with fruit and woodable species, as well as permanent crops in development stage and a small percentage on annual cultivation in maturity stage.
