Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

L-band HV multiple incidence angle aircraft synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data were analyzed in relation to average stand biomass, basal area, and tree height for 55 slash pine plantations located in northern Florida. This information was used to develop a system of equations to predict average stand biomass as a function of L-band (24.5 cm) radar backscatter. The system of equations and combinatorial screening accounted for 97% percent of the variability observed in average stand biomass per hectare. When applied to an independent data set, the biomass equations had an average bias of less than 1% with a standard error of approwimately 3%. These results indicate that future Shuttle Imaging Radar Systems (e.g., SIR-C, which will have cross-polarized radar sensors) should be able to o[...]

L-band HV multiple incidence angle aircraft synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data were analyzed in relation to average stand biomass, basal area, and tree height for 55 slash pine plantations located in northern Florida. This information was used to develop a system of equations to predict average stand biomass as a function of L-band (24.5 cm) radar backscatter. The system of equations and combinatorial screening accounted for 97% percent of the variability observed in average stand biomass per hectare. When applied to an independent data set, the biomass equations had an average bias of less than 1% with a standard error of approwimately 3%. These results indicate that future Shuttle Imaging Radar Systems (e.g., SIR-C, which will have cross-polarized radar sensors) should be able to obtain better estimates of forest biomass than were obtained with previous satellite radar missions which utilized only HH-polarized SAR data. "(Résumé des auteurs)".