Radar remote sensing data for applications in forestry

Summary

This thesis describes an investigation into the applications of radar remote sensing in forestry. During a four-year period (1982-1985), an extensive set of radar data was acquired at four test sites with forest plantations in The Netherlands: the Roggebotzand and Horsterwold sites at Flevoland and the Speulderbos and Kootwijk sites at The Veluwe. Two systems were deployed: a digital X-band SLAR and the multiband airborne scatterometer Dutscat. The thesis includes a description of these systems and the radar signal properties. Results of radar signature, transmissivity and canopy probing measurements are described. After discussing the physical properties of the radar data, the use of spatial analysis techniques is evaluated and the potential applications of radar data for classification and biophysical parameter estimation are elaborated. The thesis concludes with a conceptual elaboration of processing and data interpretation strategies.