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Article dans une revue
Decrease of L-band SAR backscatter with biomass of dense forests
Abstract : Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is one of the most promising remote sensors to map forest carbon. The unique spaceborne and long-wavelength SAR data currently available are L-band data, but their relationship with forest biomass is still controversial, particularly for high biomass values. While many studies assume a complete loss of sensitivity above a saturation point, typically around 100 t.ha− 1, others assume a continuous positive correlation between SAR backscatter and biomass. The objective of this paper is to revisit the relationship between L-band SAR backscatter and dense tropical forest biomass for a large range of biomass values using both theoretical and experimental approaches. Both approaches revealed that after reaching a maximum value, SAR backscatter correlates negatively with forest biomass. This phenomenon is interpreted as a signal attenuation from the forest canopy as the canopy becomes denser with increasing biomass. This result has strong implications for L-band vegetation mapping because it can lead to a greater-than-expected under-estimation of biomass. The consequences for L-band biomass mapping are illustrated, and solutions are proposed.
https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-01902422
Contributeur : Yannick Brohard <>
Soumis le : mardi 23 octobre 2018 - 15:21:28
Dernière modification le : lundi 5 juillet 2021 - 10:10:06
Contributeur : Yannick Brohard <>
Soumis le : mardi 23 octobre 2018 - 15:21:28
Dernière modification le : lundi 5 juillet 2021 - 10:10:06