The paper analyses seasonal effects on L-band backscatter in boreal forests and the implications for stem volume retrieval (JERS-1 mission). As test sites, the estate of Kattbole, Sweden, and two compartments in Bolshe-Murtinsky, Siberia, were considered. The in-situ measured stem volumes ranged from 5 to 350 m3/ha in Kattbole and to 400 m3/ha in Bolshe-Murtinsky, at stand level. For each site nine SAR images were available. Forest backscatter strongly depended on seasonal conditions. With respect to other seasons, in frozen conditions the dynamic range was smaller and the forest backscatter at least 3 dB lower. When precipitation occurred, the backscatter showed saturation. In Kattbole, no saturation was found in images acquired at dry/unfrozen conditions. By means of a semi-empirical model, a regression between stem volume and backscatter was performed. Stem volume was then retrieved for an independent set of backscatter measurements. Images acquired at dry/unfrozen conditions showed a relative RMS error of around 30 % for the images acquired over Kattbole. At both sites the retrieval error was higher for other weather conditions, around 50%. When dry/unfrozen conditions occurred, multi-temporal combination of stem volume estimates showed the smallest error (22%). Hence, for boreal forest monitoring L-band images acquired at dry/unfrozen conditions should be used.
C-band SAR interferometry using ERS data has been shown to be potential for urban areas studies. This work illustrates the application of Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to a multi-temporal set of ERS coherence images to detect urban areas and their features. In particular Principal Component Transformation was applied on sets of one-day and long-term coherence images for urban mapping applications in the area of Naples, Italy. Two main classes, urban and non-urban, which then included two classes each, were considered in this study. Dense built-up areas and residential areas formed the urban class. Water bodies and vegetated areas (fields and woods) were grouped in the non-urban class. The first principal component was found to be more suitable than higher order components for detection of urban areas. Moreover, a simple algorithm based on distance between the first principal component of a pixel and the
value representative for each class was tested for intra-urban mapping. Results showed that the first principal component could discriminate reasonably well between dense built-up and residential areas.
The international EU-funded SIBERIA project (1998-2000) aimed at the production of an extensive forest map using spaceborne SAR data acquired by the ERS and JERS satellites. For a large geographical region (900.000 km2) located in the Central Siberian Plateau, one-day ERS coherence and JERS backscatter were used to retrieve growing stock volume. A classification algorithm based on peaks in the coherence and backscatter histograms was used. Four volume classes, water and open land were considered. An independent test in 10 areas showed an accuracy above 80%. The produced forest map serves as a tool for the sustainable management of Siberian natural resources and for a better understanding of the role of boreal forests in climate change. The objective of the international EU-funded SIBERIA-II project (2002-2005) is to demonstrate the viability of full carbon accounting, including all greenhouse gasses, with a multi-sensor approach over a 2 million-km2 area in Siberia. Having recently started, a general overview of the aims and the objectives of the project is given. Using several satellite observations available and the SIBERIA database, the first step consists in the generation of several Earth Observation (EO) products (such as biomass, phenological parameters, soil moisture, snow cover etc). Together with land-cover information from local institutions, these products will be input to two dynamic vegetation models for full regional carbon accounting. To increase knowledge, additional products such as Afforestation-Reforestation-Deforestation and fire scars maps are planned.
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