Modeling lidar and radar returns of forest canopies for data fusion

Radar backscatter and lidar waveform models, which are based upon a common three-dimensional forest stand structure, are parameterized using realistic forest physical stands to produce a dataset of forest structural parameters and lidar/radar responses. This paper briefly describes some preliminary results in the studies of the sensitivities of models to forest spatial structure, the relationship between radar backscattering and the lidar measurements for various forest stands, and the potential of radar and lidar data fusion for forest structure characterization and biophysical parameter estimation.