Research on the application of coarse spatial resolution imagery has focused on the potential of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and similar indices to identify and map land cover al a regional scale. The ready availability of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data has allowed the development of methods which observe the change in spectral character of specific ground locations over time through the pattern of the temporal NDVI profile. This letter describes a method of analysing NDVI temporal profiles using a similarity measure which is commonly available in pattern analysis packages. This method is applied in an agricultural and forested context.