Title :
Retrieval of stem volume in coniferous forest from low VHF-band SAR
Author :
Ulander, Lars M H ; Askne, Jan ; Fransson, Johan E S ; Gustavsson, Anders ; Toan, Thuy Le ; Manninen, Terhikki ; Martinez, Jean-Michel ; Melon, Pierre ; Smith, Gary ; Walter, Fredrik
Author_Institution :
Swedish Defence Res. Establ., Linkoping, Sweden
Abstract :
Retrieval of forest stem volume using SAR in the lower VHF-band holds great promise. The basic idea is that coniferous trees behave as Rayleigh scatterers with a backscatter proportional to stem volume. In the paper, measurements using the CARABAS SAR at five different test sites are compared. The authors conclude that backscatter on horizontal ground indeed has a simple linear relation with stem volume. No signs of saturation is found up to 1000 m3/ha. The proportionality factor is however slightly dependent on ground reflection coefficient. The paper also evaluates temporal stability using repeat-tracks. High repeatability is found after 1 hour (R2=99%) and 20 months (R 2=91%) implying good system and scene stability
Keywords :
backscatter; forestry; geophysical techniques; radar cross-sections; remote sensing by radar; synthetic aperture radar; vegetation mapping; SAR; VHF-band; backscatter; biomass; coniferous forest; coniferous tree; forestry; geophysical measurement technique; radar remote sensing; radar scattering; stem volume; synthetic aperture radar; tree trunk; vegetation mapping; Biomass; Carbon dioxide; Forestry; Frequency; Protocols; Rayleigh scattering; Remote sensing; Space technology; Stability; Testing;
Conference_Titel :
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2000. Proceedings. IGARSS 2000. IEEE 2000 International
Conference_Location :
Honolulu, HI
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-6359-0
DOI :
10.1109/IGARSS.2000.860558
