Rice Crop Height Inversion from TanDEM-X PolInSAR Data Using the RVoG Model Combined with the Logistic Growth Equation

The random volume over ground (RVoG) model has been widely used in the field of vegetation height retrieval based on polarimetric interferometric synthetic aperture radar (PolInSAR) data. However, to date, its application in a time-series framework has not been considered. In this study, the logistic growth equation was introduced into the PolInSAR method for the first time to assist in estimating crop height, and an improved inversion scheme for the corresponding RVoG model parameters combined with the logistic growth equation was proposed. This retrieval scheme was tested using a time series of single-pass HH-VV bistatic TanDEM-X data and reference data obtained over rice fields. The effectiveness of the time-series RVoG model based on the logistic growth equation and the convenience of using equation parameters to evaluate vegetation growth status were analyzed at three test plots. The results show that the improved method can effectively monitor the height variation of crops throughout the whole growth cycle and the rice height estimation achieved an accuracy better than when single dates were considered. This proved that the proposed method can reduce the dependence on interferometric sensitivity and can achieve the goal of monitoring the whole process of rice height evolution with only a few PolInSAR observations.This research was funded in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 41820104005, 42030112, 41904004) and in part by the and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant no. PID2020-117303GB-C22)

Land cover and forest mapping in boreal zone using polarimetric and interferometric SAR data

Remote sensing offers a wide range of instruments suitable to meet the growing need for consistent, timely and cost-effective monitoring of land cover and forested areas. One of the most important instruments is synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology, where transfer of advanced SAR imaging techniques from mostly experimental small test-area studies to satellites enables improvements in remote assessment of land cover on a global scale. Globally, forests are very suitable for remote sensing applications due to their large dimensions and relatively poor accessibility in distant areas. In this thesis, several methods were developed utilizing Earth observation data collected using such advanced SAR techniques, as well as their application potential was assessed. The focus was on use of SAR polarimetry and SAR interferometry to improve performance and robustness in assessment of land cover and forest properties in the boreal zone. Particular advances were achieved in land cover classification and estimating several key forest variables, such as forest stem volume and forest tree height. Important results reported in this thesis include: improved polarimetric SAR model-based decomposition approach suitable for use in boreal forest at L-band; development and demonstration of normalization method for fully polarimetric SAR mosaics, resulting in improved classification performance and suitable for wide-area mapping purposes; establishing new inversion procedure for robust forest stem volume retrieval from SAR data; developing semi-empirical method and demonstrating potential for soil type separation (mineral soil, peatland) under forested areas with L-band polarimetric SAR; developing and demonstrating methodology for simultaneous retrieval of forest tree height and radiowave attenuation in forest layer from inter-ferometric SAR data, resulting in improved accuracy and more stable estimation of forest tree height

Utilisation de la télédétection pour l’analyse de la dynamique de la biomasse aérienne sèche totale des forêts et des palmiers à huile d’une plantation mature dans le Bassin du Congo

Le stockage de la biomasse aérienne (BA) sèche totale des forêts est indispensable à la lutte contre les changements climatiques. Depuis quelques décennies, il y a une tendance à l’introduction de cultures agro-industrielles, comme les plantations de palmiers à huile, dans les forêts tropicales dans le Bassin du Congo. Ces conversions participent à l’augmentation ou à la diminution des émissions ou absorptions de dioxyde de carbone (CO2) dans l’atmosphère, tout en occasionnant des changements climatiques. Dans cette région, la disponibilité des données de terrain et de télédétection est relativement limitée pour évaluer la BA. L’estimation de la BA des palmiers à huile n’est également pas maitrisée dans le Bassin du Congo. Les incertitudes rapportées dans les études précédentes utilisant la télédétection demeurent encore élevées. Plusieurs approches à fort potentiel restent encore à développer ou à évaluer. À titre d’exemple, l’approche MARS (régressions multivariées par spline adaptative) pour estimer la BA n’a pas encore été testée, notamment avec des données combinées optiques, LiDAR et radar. Les pertes et les gains de la BA dus aux changements des forêts en palmiers à huile dans le Bassin du Congo, particulièrement au Gabon, n’ont pas encore été quantifiés. La présente étude vise alors à contribuer au développement des méthodes d’estimation de la BA par l’utilisation de la télédétection pour comprendre l’impact des plantations des palmiers à huile sur les variations de la BA des forêts. Au cours de la présente étude, nous avons développé les premiers modèles allométriques d’estimation de la BA des palmiers à huile à l’aide de mesures in situ originales, que nous avons acquises dans le Bassin du Congo. Des modèles de BA des palmiers à huile ont également été établis avec MARS et les régressions linéaires multiples (RLM) en utilisant des indices dérivés de la transformée de Fourier (indices FOTO) à partir d’images satellitaires FORMOSAT-2 et PlanetScope. Finalement, cette thèse propose aussi des modèles MARS qui combinent des données de télédétection optiques (SPOT 7), LiDAR et radar polarimétrique interférométrique (PolInSAR) pour estimer la BA des forêts tropicales. À l’aide des estimations fournies par les modèles construits, la dynamique des BA des forêts et des plantations de palmiers à huile a été analysée. Les résultats ont montré que le modèle allométrique local de BA, utilisant la variable composée formée par le diamètre à hauteur de poitrine, la hauteur et la densité, ou le nombre de feuilles, permettait d’avoir les meilleures estimations (erreur quadratique moyenne relative (%RMSE) = 5,1 %). Un modèle allométrique de BA relativement performant a également été construit en utilisant seulement le diamètre et la hauteur (%RMSE = 8,2 %). Pour l’estimation des BA des palmiers à partir d’images FORMOSAT-2 et PlanetScope, les résultats démontrent que l’approche MARS permet les évaluations les plus précises (%RMSE ≤ 9,5 %). Cela est particulièrement vrai lorsque les images FORMOSAT-2 sont considérées (%RMSE ≤ 6,4 %). Les modèles de régression linéaire multiple donnent aussi des résultats avec des erreurs faibles, mais n’atteignent pas l’approche MARS (%RMSE ≥ 6,6 %). Cette dernière a été utilisée pour développer une série de modèles afin d’estimer les BA des forêts de la région d’étude. Les résultats montrent que le modèle utilisant la variable individuelle de la hauteur médiane de la canopée (RH50) dérivée des données LiDAR a estimé la biomasse avec plus de précision (%RMSE = 28 %). La combinaison de données de télédétection (optique, LiDAR et radar) a réduit de près de 4 % les erreurs d’estimation de la biomasse du modèle exploitant la variable individuelle (RH50). Les analyses de la dynamique de BA due aux remplacements des forêts en palmeraies ont enfin permis de constater que les forêts sont plus des vecteurs de gains de BA que les palmeraies particulièrement pour les forêts matures (512 t ha-1 de plus de BA que les palmeraies, soit un surplus de 88 %). Ce constat est identique pour les forêts secondaires vieilles (168 t ha-1, soit 70 % de surplus de BA que les palmeraies) et les forêts secondaires jeunes-adultes ou inondables (74 t ha-1 de plus que les palmeraies, soit un excédent de 51 %). En revanche, l’installation de plantations de palmiers à huile dans les zones de sols nus ou forêts en repousse pourrait être gagnante en termes de BA, car celles-ci ne présentent que 72 t ha-1 de BA (100 % moins que les palmiers). C’est le cas aussi dans les zones occupées par les forêts secondaires jeunes-adultes avec des BA minimales et des sols nus ou des forêts en repousse avec des BA maximales de 52 t ha-1 (20 t ha-1, soit 38 % de BA de moins que les palmeraies)

Radar polarimetry and interferometry for remote sensing of boreal forest

Forest biomass is a key parameter of the global biosphere which is linked to many fields of research. Modeling addressing climate, ecology, and economics as well as many other prediction frameworks require an accurate assessment of global forest biomass. Methods for producing forest information are rapidly developing and traditional forest inventory by visual estimation has been gradually replaced by the use of airborne and spaceborne instruments. Nevertheless, the estimation of biomass on a global basis including boreal, temperate, and tropical forests, is still a major challenge. Among other spaceborne sensors, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is one of the most suitable tools for large scale mapping and it has also been often used for forest mapping. However, commonly used backscattering intensity based methods do not provide a satisfactory accuracy for biomass estimation; hence, the scientific radar community has been developing more accurate means based on advanced SAR imaging and analyzing techniques, such as SAR polarimetry and interferometry. The work within this thesis contributes to this effort specifically in the field of remote sensing with the emphasis on SAR polarimetry and interferometry for boreal forest applications. The study concentrates on three main topics: polarimetric SAR image analysis, retrieval of forest height by means of SAR interferometry, and modeling of radar backscattering from trees. The main contributions of this work include a new effective approach in polarimetric target decomposition, novel polarimetric visualization schemes, an improved interferometric tree height estimation method suitable for boreal forest, interferometric tree height estimation capability demonstration for X-band, a novel method for relating SAR measurements to single tree scattering modeling, and taking the scattering modeling from a pine tree to the single needle level with accurate field models. Furthermore, the forest height estimation scheme proposed in this work potentially enables tree height estimation with existing spaceborne interferometric X-band SAR systems. The proposed method uses an interferometric coherence model and a ground elevation model to produce accurate tree height maps from single polarization interferometric SAR data. The method is demonstrated with airborne SAR measurements and will be tested in the near future with satellite data. Since tree height is related to forest biomass through tree allometry, tree height measurements from space would enable more accurate global forest biomass maps

Understanding forest health with Remote sensing-Part II-A review of approaches and data models

Stress in forest ecosystems (FES) occurs as a result of land-use intensification, disturbances, resource limitations or unsustainable management, causing changes in forest health (FH) at various scales from the local to the global scale. Reactions to such stress depend on the phylogeny of forest species or communities and the characteristics of their impacting drivers and processes. There are many approaches to monitor indicators of FH using in-situ forest inventory and experimental studies, but they are generally limited to sample points or small areas, as well as being time- and labour-inte

Growing stock volume estimation in temperate forsted areas using a fusion approach with SAR Satellites Imagery

Forest monitoring plays a central role in the context of global warming mitigation and in the assessment of forest resources. To meet these challenges, significant efforts have been made by scientists to develop new feasible remote sensing techniques for the retrieval of forest parameters. However, much work remains to be done in this area, in particular in establishing global assessments of forest biomass. In this context, this Ph.D. Thesis presents a complete methodology for estimating Growing Stock Volume (GSV) in temperate forested areas using a fusion approach based on Synthetic-Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite imagery. The investigations which were performed focused on the Thuringian Forest, which is located in Central Germany. The satellite data used are composed of an extensive set of L-band (ALOS PALSAR) and X-band (TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X, Cosmo-SkyMed) images, which were acquired in various sensor configurations (acquisition modes, polarisations, incidence angles). The available ground data consists of a forest inventory delivered by the local forest offices. Weather measurements and a LiDAR DEM complete the datasets. The research showed that together with the topography, the forest structure and weather conditions generally limited the sensitivity of the SAR signal to GSV. The best correlations were obtained with ALOS PALSAR (R2 = 0.61) and TanDEM-X (R2 = 0.72) interferometric coherences. These datasets were chosen for the retrieval of GSV in the Thuringian Forest and led with regressions to an root-mean-square error (RMSE) in the range of 100─200 m3ha-1. As a final achievement of this thesis, a methodology for combining the SAR information was developed. Assuming that there are sufficient and adequate remote sensing data, the proposed fusion approach may increase the biomass maps accuracy, their spatial extension and their updated frequency. These characteristics are essential for the future derivation of accurate, global and robust forest biomass maps

3D Remote Sensing Applications in Forest Ecology: Composition, Structure and Function

Dear Colleagues, The composition, structure and function of forest ecosystems are the key features characterizing their ecological properties, and can thus be crucially shaped and changed by various biotic and abiotic factors on multiple spatial scales. The magnitude and extent of these changes in recent decades calls for enhanced mitigation and adaption measures. Remote sensing data and methods are the main complementary sources of up-to-date synoptic and objective information of forest ecology. Due to the inherent 3D nature of forest ecosystems, the analysis of 3D sources of remote sensing data is considered to be most appropriate for recreating the forest’s compositional, structural and functional dynamics. In this Special Issue of Forests, we published a set of state-of-the-art scientific works including experimental studies, methodological developments and model validations, all dealing with the general topic of 3D remote sensing-assisted applications in forest ecology. We showed applications in forest ecology from a broad collection of method and sensor combinations, including fusion schemes. All in all, the studies and their focuses are as broad as a forest’s ecology or the field of remote sensing and, thus, reflect the very diverse usages and directions toward which future research and practice will be directed

Applications of SAR Interferometry in Earth and Environmental Science Research

This paper provides a review of the progress in regard to the InSAR remote sensing technique and its applications in earth and environmental sciences, especially in the past decade. Basic principles, factors, limits, InSAR sensors, available software packages for the generation of InSAR interferograms were summarized to support future applications. Emphasis was placed on the applications of InSAR in seismology, volcanology, land subsidence/uplift, landslide, glaciology, hydrology, and forestry sciences. It ends with a discussion of future research directions

Leaf orientation and the spectral reflectance of field crops

Leaf angle distribution (LAD) is one of the most important parameters used to describe the structure of horizontally homogeneous vegetation canopies, such as field crops. LAD affects how incident photosynthetically active radiation is distributed on plant leaves, thus directly affecting plant productivity. However, the LAD of crops is difficult to quantify; usually it is assumed to be spherical. The purpose of this dissertation is to develop leaf angle estimation methods and study their effect on leaf area index (LAI) and chlorophyll a and b content (Cab) measured from optical observation. The study area was located in Viikki agricultural experimental field, Helsinki, Finland. Six crop species, faba bean, narrow-leafed lupin, turnip rape, oat, barley and wheat, were included in this study. A digital camera was used to take photographs outside the plot to record crop LAD. LAI and Cab were determined for each plot. Airborne imaging spectroscopy data was acquired using an AISA Eagle II imaging spectrometer covering the spectral range in visible and near-infrared (400 1000 nm). A recently developed method for the determination of leaf inclination angle was applied in field crops. This method was previously applied only to small and flat leaves of tree species. The error of LAI determination caused by the assumption of spherical LAD varied between 0 and 1.5 LAI units. The highest correlation between leaf mean tilt angle (MTA) and spectral reflectance was found at a wavelength of 748 nm. MTA was retrieved from imaging spectroscopy data using two algorithms. One method was to retrieve MTA from reflectance at 748 nm using a look-up table. The second method was to estimate MTA using the strong dependence of blue (479 nm) and red (663 nm) on MTA. The two approaches provide a new means to determine crop canopy structure from remote sensing data. LAI and MTA effects on Cab sensitive vegetation indices were examined. Three indices (REIP, TCARI/OSAVI and CTR6) showed strong correlations with Cab and similar performance in model-simulated and empirical datasets. However, only two (TCARI/OSAVI and CTR6) were independent from LAI and MTA. These two indices were considered as robust proxies of crop leaf Cab. Keywords: leaf angle; leaf area index; leaf chlorophyll; digital photograph; imaging spectroscopy; PROSAIL model; vegetation indice

ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 Calibration, Validation, Science and Applications

Twelve edited original papers on the latest and state-of-art results of topics ranging from calibration, validation, and science to a wide range of applications using ALOS-2/PALSAR-2. We hope you will find them useful for your future research