Application of RADARSAT multi-date data to monitor the seasonal spread of macrophyte beds in the Tucurui Reservoir, Brazilian Amazon

This paper reports the results of a study performed to assess the suitability of C band RADARSAT data to monitor the spread of macrophyte stands in the Tucurui reservoir along the year. Three RADARSAT images were obtained concurrently to ground data acquisition: May, August and November 1996. The images are CEOS RADARSAT format, single beam detected product, 16 bit unsigned data, SAR georeferenced fine resolution (SGF), standard mode with low incidence angle (S5 and S6), 12.5 by 12.5 m pixel spacing; and 1 (range) by 4 (azimuth) looks. They were calibrated, corrected for antenna pattern and geometry. Several textural measures were derived for each image to test their suitability to improve the discrimination of the following classes: dead tree trunks, macrophyte stands, forest land and open water. The result shows that the inclusion of the textural information does not prevent misclassification of macrophyte and forest