scholarly journals Forest Growing Stock Volume Estimation in Subtropical Mountain Areas Using PALSAR-2 L-Band PolSAR Data

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haibo Zhang ◽  
Jianjun Zhu ◽  
Changcheng Wang ◽  
Hui Lin ◽  
Jiangping Long ◽  
...  

Forest growing stock volume (GSV) extraction using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images has been widely used in climate change research. However, the relationships between forest GSV and polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) data in the mountain region of central China remain unknown. Moreover, it is challenging to estimate GSV due to the complex topography of the region. In this paper, we estimated the forest GSV from advanced land observing satellite-2 (ALOS-2) phased array-type L-band synthetic aperture radar (PALSAR-2) full polarimetric SAR data based on ground truth data collected in Youxian County, Central China in 2016. An integrated three-stage (polarization orientation angle, POA; effective scattering area, ESA; and angular variation effect, AVE) correction method was used to reduce the negative impact of topography on the backscatter coefficient. In the AVE correction stage, a strategy for fine terrain correction was attempted to obtain the optimum correction parameters for different polarization channels. The elements on the diagonal of covariance matrix were used to develop forest GSV prediction models through five single-variable models and a multi-variable model. The results showed that the integrated three-stage terrain correction reduced the negative influence of topography and improved the sensitivity between the forest GSV and backscatter coefficients. In the three stages, the POA compensation was limited in its ability to reduce the impact of complex terrain, the ESA correction was more effective in low-local incidence angles area than high-local incidence angles, and the effect of the AVE correction was opposite to the ESA correction. The data acquired on 14 July 2016 was most suitable for GSV estimation in this study area due to its correlation with GSV, which was the strongest at HH, HV, and VV polarizations. The correlation coefficient values were 0.489, 0.643, and 0.473, respectively, which were improved by 0.363, 0.373, and 0.366 in comparison to before terrain correction. In the five single-variable models, the fitting performance of the Water-Cloud analysis model was the best, and the correlation coefficient R2 value was 0.612. The constructed multi-variable model produced a better inversion result, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 70.965 m3/ha, which was improved by 22.08% in comparison to the single-variable models. Finally, the space distribution map of forest GSV was established using the multi-variable model. The range of estimated forest GSV was 0 to 450 m3/ha, and the mean value was 135.759 m3/ha. The study expands the application potential of PolSAR data in complex topographic areas; thus, it is helpful and valuable for the estimation of large-scale forest parameters.

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 4503-4532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurizio Santoro ◽  
Oliver Cartus ◽  
Johan Fransson ◽  
Anatoly Shvidenko ◽  
Ian McCallum ◽  
...  

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 944
Author(s):  
Mihai A. Tanase ◽  
Ignacio Borlaf-Mena ◽  
Maurizio Santoro ◽  
Cristina Aponte ◽  
Gheorghe Marin ◽  
...  

While products generated at global levels provide easy access to information on forest growing stock volume (GSV), their use at regional to national levels is limited by temporal frequency, spatial resolution, or unknown local errors that may be overcome through locally calibrated products. This study assessed the need, and utility, of developing locally calibrated GSV products for the Romanian forests. To this end, we used national forest inventory (NFI) permanent sampling plots with largely concurrent SAR datasets acquired at C- and L-bands to train and validate a machine learning algorithm. Different configurations of independent variables were evaluated to assess potential synergies between C- and L-band. The results show that GSV estimation errors at C- and L-band were rather similar, relative root mean squared errors (RelRMSE) around 55% for forests averaging over 450 m3 ha−1, while synergies between the two wavelengths were limited. Locally calibrated models improved GSV estimation by 14% when compared to values obtained from global datasets. However, even the locally calibrated models showed particularly large errors over low GSV intervals. Aggregating the results over larger areas considerably reduced (down to 25%) the relative estimation errors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusupujiang Aimaiti ◽  
Fumio Yamazaki ◽  
Wen Liu

In earthquake-prone areas, identifying patterns of ground deformation is important before they become latent risk factors. As one of the severely damaged areas due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, Urayasu City in Chiba Prefecture has been suffering from land subsidence as a part of its land was built by a massive land-fill project. To investigate the long-term land deformation patterns in Urayasu City, three sets of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data acquired during 1993–2006 from European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS-1/-2 (C-band)), during 2006–2010 from the Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar onboard the Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS PALSAR (L-band)) and from 2014–2017 from the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 (L-band) were processed by using multitemporal interferometric SAR (InSAR) techniques. Leveling survey data were also used to verify the accuracy of the InSAR-derived results. The results from the ERS-1/-2, ALOS PALSAR and ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 data processing showed continuing subsidence in several reclaimed areas of Urayasu City due to the integrated effects of numerous natural and anthropogenic processes. The maximum subsidence rate of the period from 1993 to 2006 was approximately 27 mm/year, while the periods from 2006 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2017 were approximately 30 and 18 mm/year, respectively. The quantitative validation results of the InSAR-derived deformation trend during the three observation periods are consistent with the leveling survey data measured from 1993 to 2017. Our results further demonstrate the advantages of InSAR measurements as an alternative to ground-based measurements for land subsidence monitoring in coastal reclaimed areas.


2014 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 66-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Woo Kim ◽  
Zhong Lu ◽  
John W. Jones ◽  
C.K. Shum ◽  
Hyongki Lee ◽  
...  

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Weissel ◽  
K. R. Czuchlewski ◽  
Y. Kim

Abstract. We present new radar-based techniques for efficient identification of surface changes generated by lava and pyroclastic flows, and apply these to the 1996 eruption of Manam Volcano, Papua New Guinea. Polarimetric L- and P-band airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, along with a C-band DEM, were acquired over the volcano on 17 November 1996 during a major eruption sequence. The L-band data are analyzed for dominant scattering mechanisms on a per pixel basis using radar target decomposition techniques. A classification method is presented, and when applied to the L-band polarimetry, it readily distinguishes bare surfaces from forest cover over Manam volcano. In particular, the classification scheme identifies a post-1992 lava flow in NE Valley of Manam Island as a mainly bare surface and the underlying 1992 flow units as mainly vegetated surfaces. The Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Network reports allow us to speculate whether the bare surface is a flow dating from October or November in the early part of the late-1996 eruption sequence. This work shows that fully polarimetric SAR is sensitive to scattering mechanism changes caused by volcanic resurfacing processes such as lava and pyroclastic flows. By extension, this technique should also prove useful in mapping debris flows, ash deposits and volcanic landslides associated with major eruptions.


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