Extraction of Crop Information From RADARSAT-1 Imagery

Abstract

During the 1997 growing season, the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing acquired 10 Standard and Fine Mode RADARSAT scenes over an agricultural test site centred on Carman, Manitoba (Canada). One purpose of this multi-year project was to address the information content of RADARSAT data for mapping crop type and for extracting information on crop condition. The application of RADARSAT for extraction of crop information is particularly attractive because of the all weather capability associated with SAR acquisitions and the sensitivity of microwaves to canopy structure and moisture. <p> During the data acquisition phase of the project, RADARSAT images a wide range of agricultural crops, at various developmental stages. In addition to the radar imagery, SPOT XS, Landsat Thematic Mapper and IRS-1C PAN optical imagery were acquired. During the period of peak biomass, crops were characterized on more than 300 fields across the site. In addition, within-field crop information related to crop condition (biomass, height and plant water content) was gathered on 12 fields across the study site. <p> Results have indicated that the best separabilities among crop types were observed when crops were in the process of seed development. Also, multi-date RADARSAT and optical data appeared to improve discrimination of crops, although separating spring wheat remained difficult. Preliminary analysis has indicated that both RADARSAT and satellite optical data provide information related to crop condition.