Radar backscattering of forest stands

Abstract Research on the potential applications of microwave remote sensing in agriculture is conducted in the Netherlands by the ROVE team. Since active microwave remote sensing, featuring its all-weather capability, also seems to be a promising tool for forest classification, especially on a global scale, the Wageningen Agricultural University started a new working group in co-operation with the ROVE team in order to explore this field of application. Results of four X-band SLAR flights have been analysed. The digital radar images obtained are accurately corrected both geometrically and radiometrically and indicate gamma values instead of arbitrary grey tones. Radar signatures, showing seasonal and angular effects, of 16 classes of forest stands have been derived from the images. Special attention has been paid to the statistical properties of the radar signatures and their impact on classification accuracy. Several interesting phenomena have been observed indicating effects of vegetation structure on r...