Forest monitoring in northern Japan with an airborne high-resolution SAR

Abstract

Multifrequency and polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is effective tool for estimating the biophysical properties of forests and detecting the deforestation. The authors have observed forests in Tomakomai, Japan (42.43/spl deg/N, 141.34/spl deg/E) with an airborne SAR for two years. Their airborne SAR provides dual-frequency (L- and X-bands), full polarimetric data with a high resolution of 1.5 m. They also measured the biophysical properties (diameter, height, basal area and leaf area index). In this presentation they report the forest monitoring with a high-resolution SAR in Tomakomai. They discuss the dependence of backscattering coefficient on the incidence angle, the discrimination between coniferous trees and deciduous trees, and the relation between biophysical properties and backscattering coefficient of SAR. They also discuss the seasonal change of the forests using the airborne SAR data on February, July, and October.