On the use of ERS-1 multi-temporal SAR data for agricultural applications

The site chosen for this investigation is Flevoland in the Netherlands. The terrain is very uniform and consists either of crops or bare soils early and late in the season. Seventeen ERS-1 SAR precision images in PRI format collected in 1993 are used as well as ground data measured by local investigators at the time of the overfly. Due to the flatness of this agricultural terrain, there is no need for topographic correction of the SAR data. Because of the excellent stability of the ERS-1 spaceborne satellite, it is possible to make multi-temporal observations over the site. This technique is used to accurately extract temporal profiles of the backscattering co-effcient for several crops such as winter wheat, potatoes, sugarbeets, barley, lucerne, and grass. The possible use of such “signatures” for identification and classification purpose is investigated