Assessment of JERS-1 SAR for monitoring secondary vegetation in Amazonia: I. Spatial and temporal variability in backscatter across a chrono-sequence of secondary vegetation stands in Rondonia

Abstract

Quantification of the direct impact of land use in the tropics on net biotic carbon flux relies on estimates of rates of deforestation, pre- and post-disturbance biomass, and fate of the cleared land. While existing remote sensing applications are providing estimates of the rates of deforestation and the fate of the cleared land (pasture, croplands, or secondary vegetation), techniques for estimating biomass of natural systems with remote sensing are needed. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) presents a unique opportunity for imaging tropical forests under most cloud conditions and potentially provides information on vegetation biomass. Models for estimating above-ground biomass from SAR data have been developed. In this paper we examine the temporal and spatial variability of mean normalized radar cross-section across a chrono-sequence of secondary vegetation stands and clearings in Rondonia, Brazil. We also assess the impact of the observed temporal and spatial variability in normalized radar cross-section on estimating biomass of secondary vegetation stands. Results indicate that, while quantitative estimates of biomass are not stable due to intrinsic texture, system noise, and environmental effects, JERS-1 data are still useful for categorizing relative differences in development of secondary vegetation stands. Merging Japanese Earth Resources Satellite 1 (JERS-1) SAR data with Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) derived age information data provide improved characterization of clearings and secondary vegetation in Rondonia.