Forest backscatter modeling: simulation versus discrete random media approach

The radar backscatter is computed from a forest by using two different techniques and the results are compared. The basis for the comparison is tree architecture information obtained by Landry. Using his technique the coordinates of all branch nodes of the tree are reconstructed. With this information, the backscatter is computed by coherently adding up the backscatter from individual branch links. The results are compared to the standard statistical approach where branches are treated independently with prescribed orientation statistics. The procedure is applied to red pine and jack pine trees at L band frequencies. The results show that when trunks are the dominant scatterers, the backscatter is approximately the same while when volume scatter is dominant, differences of as much as 6 dB can be observed