Modeling forest emission: Electromagnetic approximations, tests, and application to retrieval algorithms

This paper reviews the steps of a work aimed at modeling forest emission at L band. The first step consists in the development of a discrete multiple scattering model, which was tested against experimental data collected in a variety of forest types and conditions. The main tests are summarized. The approximate relationships adopted to generate a complete input data set are described. Then, the physical model is used to calibrate the parameters of a simple radiative transfer model of first order, to be used in the retrieval algorithms.