Tropical forest biomass retrieval using P-band PolTomSAR data
Conference: EUSAR 2016 - 11th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar
06/06/2016 - 06/09/2016 at Hamburg, Germany
Proceedings: EUSAR 2016
Pages: 4Language: englishTyp: PDF
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Authors:
El Hajj Chehade, Bassam; Ferro-Famil, Laurent (IETR - University of Rennes 1, France)
Dinh, Ho Tong Minh (IRSTEA - UMR TETIS Montpelier, France)
Le Toan, Thuy (CESBIO - CNES Toulouse, France)
Tebaldini, Stefano (Politecnico di Milano, Italy)
Abstract:
This paper investigates the ability of Polarimetric SAR Tomography (PolTomSAR), performed at P-band, to retrieve Above-Ground-Biomass (AGB) over dense tropical forests. PolTomSAR techniques allow an accurate estimation of the backscattered power distribution in the vertical direction. A first tomographic biomass estimator, relating AGB to the backscattered power in the higher part of the vegetation is analyzed through a Random-Volume-over-Ground (RVoG) analytical description of a forest profile. A PolTom-RVoG derivation of the power backscattered by the upper vegetation layer is performed as an integration of the reflectivity along the volume vertical structure. This integration is carried out over a domain fixed by TomSAR resolution and tree height, leading to a novel and accurate ABG estimator. The proposed techniques are applied to P-Band data acquired over the Paracou data site on French Guiana in 2009, in the frame of the European Space Agency (ESA) TropiSAR campaign.