Forest Parameter Estimation Using JERS-1 Repeat-pass Interferometry: Stem Volume Retrieval in Siberia and Sweden

This paper presents results from estimation of stem volume in boreal forest using backscatter and interferometric coherence from the L-band SAR on the Japanese Earth Resources Satellite (JERS-1). Five test areas in Siberia and one in Sweden have been included in the study. Data from 14 JERS-1 44-day pairs from Siberia and 12 pairs covering the Swedish test area have been evaluated. The best multitemporal combinations of the measurements give relative RMSE values ranging from 33% to 48%. When considering one of the two observables only, the lowest retrieval errors are obtained under frozen conditions when inverting the coherence and under unfrozen conditions when inverting the backscatter.