Regression-based retrieval of boreal forest biomass in sloping terrain using P-band SAR backscatter intensity data

IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing

Volumn 51, Issue 5, 2013, Pages 2646-2665

  Soja, Maciej Jerzy ^a   Sandberg, Gustaf ^a   Ulander, Lars M H ^a,b  

^a CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY   (Sweden)

^b SWEDISH DEFENCE RESEARCH AGENCY   (Sweden)

Author keywords

Biomass retrieval; Boreal forest; P band; Synthetic aperture radar (SAR); Topographic correction

Indexed keywords

BIOMASS RETRIEVAL; BOREAL FORESTS; MOISTURE CONDITIONS; P-BAND; P-BAND SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADARS; PARAMETERS ESTIMATED; TOPOGRAPHIC CORRECTION; TRAINING DATA SETS;

BACKSCATTERING; BIOMASS; FORESTRY;

SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR;

BACKSCATTER; BIOMASS; BOREAL FOREST; CORRECTION; DATA SET; MODEL VALIDATION; PARAMETERIZATION; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR; TERRAIN; TOPOGRAPHY;

BIOMASS; FORESTRY; RADAR;

KRYCKLAN BASIN; REMNINGSTORP; SWEDEN; VASTERBOTTEN; VASTRA GOTALAND;

EID: 84885019781     PISSN: 01962892     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1109/TGRS.2012.2219538     Document Type: Article

References (55)

1. S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, M. Marquis, K. Averyt, M. M. B. Tignor, and H. L. Miller, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007. [Online]. Available: http://www.ipcc.ch/publications-and-data/publications-ipcc-fourth- assessment-report-wg1-report-the-physical-science-basis.htm
2. C. Parker, A. Mitchell, M. Trivedi, and N. Mardas, "The little REDD book: A guide to governmental and non-governmental proposals for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation," in Global Canopy Programme. Oxford, U.K.: John Krebs Field Station, Nov. 2008.
3. E. Næsset, T. Gobakken, S. Solberg, T. G. Gregoire, R. Nelson, G. Ståhl, and D. Weydahl, "Model-assisted regional forest biomass estimation using lidar and InSAR as auxiliary data: A case study from a boreal forest area," Remote Sens. Environ., vol. 115, no. 12, pp. 3599-3614, Dec. 2011.
4. K. Folkesson, G. Smith-Jonforsen, and L. M. H. Ulander, "Modelbased compensation of topographic effects for improved stem-volume retrieval from CARABAS-II VHF-band SAR images," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 1045-1055, Apr. 2009.
5. T. Le Toan, A. Beaudoin, J. Riom, and D. Guyon, "Relating forest biomass to SAR data," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 403-411, Mar. 1992.
6. A. Beaudoin, T. Le Toan, S. Goze, E. Nezry, A. Lopes, E. Mougin, C. C. Hsu, H. C. Han, J. A. Kong, and R. T. Shin, "Retrieval of forest biomass from SAR data," Int. J. Remote Sens., vol. 15, no. 14, pp. 2777-2796, Sep. 1994.
7. H. Israelsson, J. Askne, and R. Sylvander, "Potential of SAR for forest bole volume estimation," Int. J. Remote Sens., vol. 15, no. 14, pp. 2809-2826, Sep. 1994.
8. Y. Rauste, T. Häma, J. Pulliainen, K. Heiska, and M. Hallikainen, "Radar-based forest biomass estimation," Int. J. Remote Sens., vol. 15, pp. 1797-2808, Sep. 1994.
9. K. J. Ranson and G. Sun, "Mapping biomass of a northern forest using multifrequency SAR data," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 388-396, Mar. 1994.
10. M. L. Imhoff, "Radar backscatter and biomass saturation: Ramifications for global biomass inventory," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 511-518, Mar. 1995.
11. E. J. Rignot, R. Zimmermann, and J. J. van Zyl, "Spaceborne applications of P band imaging radars for measuring forest biomass," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 1162-1169, Sep. 1995.
12. D. H. Hoekman and M. J. Quiñones, "Land cover type and biomass classification using AirSAR data for evaluation of monitoring scenarios in the Colombian Amazon," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 685-696, Mar. 2000.
13. J. R. Santos, C. C. Freitas, L. S. Araujo, L. V. Dutra, J. C. Mura, F. F. Gama, L. S. Soler, and S. J. S. Sant'Anna, "Airborne P-band SAR applied to the aboveground biomass studies in the Brazilian tropical rainforest," Remote Sens. Environ., vol. 87, no. 4, pp. 482-493, Nov. 2003.
14. S. Saatchi, K. Halligan, D. Despain, and R. Crabtree, "Estimation of forest fuel load from radar remote sensing," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 1726-1740, Jun. 2007. (Pubitemid 46853285)
15. G. Sandberg, L. M. H. Ulander, J. E. S. Fransson, J. Holmgren, and T. Le Toan, "L- and P-band backscatter intensity for biomass retrieval in hemiboreal forest," Remote Sens. Environ., vol. 115, no. 11, pp. 2874-2886, Nov. 2011.
16. S. Saatchi, M. Marlier, R. L. Chazdon, D. B. Clark, and A. E. Russell, "Impact of spatial variability of tropical forest structure on radar estimation of aboveground biomass," Remote Sens. Environ., vol. 115, no. 11, pp. 2836-2849, Nov. 2011.
17. M. Neumann, S. S. Saatchi, L. M. H. Ulander, and J. E. S. Fransson, "Assessing performance of L- and P-band polarimetric interferometric SAR data in estimating boreal forest above-ground biomass," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 714-726, Mar. 2012.
18. S. R. Cloude and K. P. Papathanassiou, "Polarimetric SAR interferometry," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 1551-1565, Sep. 1998.
19. K. P. Papathanassiou and S. R. Cloude, "Single-baseline polarimetric SAR interferometry," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 39, no. 11, pp. 2352-2363, Nov. 2001.
20. S. R. Cloude and K. P. Papathanassiou, "Three-stage inversion process for polarimetric SAR interferometry," Proc. Inst. Elect. Eng. - Radar, Sonar Navigat., vol. 150, no. 3, pp. 125-134, Jun. 2003.
21. I. H. Woodhouse, "Predicting backscatter-biomass and height-biomass trends using a macroecology model," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 871-877, Apr. 2006.
22. M. Neumann, L. Ferro-Famil, and A. Reigber, "Multibaseline polarimetric SAR interferometry coherence optimization," IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 93-97, Jan. 2008.
23. M. Neumann, L. Ferro-Famil, and A. Reigber, "Estimation of forest structure, ground, and canopy layer characteristics from multibaseline polarimetric interferometric SAR data," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 1086-1104, Mar. 2010.
24. A. Reigber and A. Moreira, "First demonstration of airborne SAR tomography using multibaseline L-band data," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 2142-2152, Sep. 2000.
25. S. R. Cloude, "Polarization coherence tomography," Radio Science, vol. 41, no. 4, p. RS4 017, Aug. 2006.
26. S. Tebaldini, "Single and multipolarimetric SAR tomography of forested areas: A parametric approach," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 2375-2387, May 2010.
27. B. Hallberg, G. Smith-Jonforsen, L. M. H. Ulander, and G. Sandberg, "A physical-optics model for double-bounce scattering from tree stems standing on an undulating ground surface," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 46, no. 9, pp. 2607-2621, Sep. 2008.
28. G. Smith-Jonforsen, L. M. H. Ulander, and X. Luo, "Low VHFband backscatter from coniferous forests on sloping terrain," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 43, no. 10, pp. 2246-2260, Oct. 2005. (Pubitemid 41634576)
29. J. J. van Zyl, "The effect of topography on radar scattering from vegetated areas," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 153-160, Jan. 1993.
30. Y.-C. Lin and K. Sarabandi, "Electromagnetic scattering model for a tree trunk above a tilted ground plane," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 1063-1070, Jul. 1995.
31. Y. Dong and J. A. Richards, "Studies of the cylinder-ground double bounce scattering mechanism in forest backscatter models," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 229-231, Jan. 1995.
32. J. Lopez-Sanchez, H. Esteban-Gonzalez, M. Baquero-Escudero, and J. Fortuny-Guasch, "An electromagnetic scattering model for multiple tree trunks above a tilted rough ground plane," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 659-667, Mar. 1999.
33. G. Smith and L. M. H. Ulander, "A model relating VHF-band backscatter to stem volume of coniferous boreal forest," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 728-740, Mar. 2000. (Pubitemid 30594756)
34. M. L. Williams, PolSARproSim: A Coherent, Polarimetric SAR Simulation of Forests for PolSARPro; Design Document and Algorithm Specification (u1.0), Eur. Space Agency, Paris, France. [Online]. Available: http://envisat.esa.int/ polsarpro/Manuals/PolSARproSim-Design.pdf
35. Candidate Earth Explorer Core Mission: BIOMASS, Report for Assessment, Eur. Space Agency, Paris, France, Tech. Rep. SP-1212/2. [Online]. Available: http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/SP1313-2-BIOMASS.pdf
36. M. Arcioni, P. Bensi, J.-L. Bézy, B. Carnicero, M. Davidson, M. Drinkwater, F. Fois, A. Gabriele, R. Haagmans, F. Hélière, P. Ingmann, V. Kangas, M. Kern, S. Kraft, J. Langen, A. Lecuyot, C.-C. Lin, R. Meynart, K. Scipal, and P. Silvestrin, "Biomass, CoReH2O, PREMIER: ESA's candidate 7th earth explorer missions," in Proc. IEEE IGARSS, Honolulu, HI, Jul. 2010, pp. 673-676.
37. K. Scipal, M. Arcioni, J. Chave, J. Dall, F. Fois, T. Le Toan, C. Lin, K. Papathanassiou, S. Quegan, F. Rocca, S. Saatchi, H. Shugart, L. Ulander, and M. Williams, "The BIOMASS mission - An ESA earth explorer candidate to measure the biomass of the earth's forests," in Proc. IEEE IGARSS, Honolulu, HI, Jul. 2010, pp. 52-55.
38. T. Le Toan, S. Quegan, M. W. J. Davidson, H. Balzter, P. Paillou, K. Papathanassiou, S. Plummer, F. Rocca, S. Saatchi, H. Shugart, and L. Ulander, "The BIOMASS mission: Mapping global forest biomass to better understand the terrestrial carbon cycle," Remote Sens. Environ., vol. 115, no. 11, pp. 2850-2860, Nov. 2011.
39. S. Quegan, T. Le Toan, J. Chave, J. Dall, K. P. Papathanassiou, F. Rocca, L. Ulander, M. Williams, S. S. Saatchi, and H. Shugart, BIOMASS, Report for Mission Selection, Eur. Space Agency, Paris, France, Tech. Rep. SP-1324/1. [Online]. Available: http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/EarthObservation/SP1324- 1-BIOMASSr.pdf
40. M. J. Soja, G. Sandberg, and L. M. H. Ulander, "Topographic correction for biomass retrieval from P-band SAR data in boreal forests," in Proc. IEEE IGARSS, Honolulu, HI, 2010, pp. 4776-4779.
41. G. Sandberg, M. J. Soja, and L. M. H. Ulander, "Impact and modeling of topographic effects on P-band SAR backscatter from boreal forests," in Proc. IEEE IGARSS, Vancouver, Canada, 2011, pp. 3522-3525.
42. M. Neumann, S. S. Saatchi, L. M. H. Ulander, and J. E. S. Fransson, "Parametric and non-parametric forest biomass estimation from PolInSAR data," in Proc. IEEE IGARSS, Vancouver, Canada, Jul. 2011, pp. 420-423.
43. L. M. H. Ulander, G. Sandberg, and M. J. Soja, "Biomass retrieval algorithm based on P-band BioSAR experiments of boreal forest," in Proc. IEEE IGARSS, Vancouver, Canada, Jul. 2011, pp. 4245-4248.
44. I. Hajnsek, R. Scheiber, L. Ulander, A. Gustavsson, G. Sandberg, S. Tebaldini, A. M. Guarnieri, F. Rocca, F. Bombardini, and M. Pardini, BioSAR 2007 Technical Assistance for the Development of Airborne SAR and Geophysical Measurements During the BioSAR 2007 Experiment: Final Report Without Synthesis, Eur. Space Agency, Paris, France, Tech. Rep. ESA Contract No. 20755/07/NL/CB. [Online]. Available: http://earth.esa.int/campaigns/DOC/biosar-finalreports- nosynthesis.pdf
45. I. Hajnsek, R. Scheiber, M. Keller, R. Horn, S. Lee, L. M. H. Ulander, A. Gustavsson, G. Sandberg, T. Le Toan, S. Tebaldini, A. M. Guarnieri, and F. Rocca, BioSAR 2008 Technical Assistance for the Development of Airborne SAR and Geophysical Measurements During the BioSAR 2008 Experiment: Final Report-BioSAR Campaign, Tech. Rep. ESA Contract No. 22052/08/NL/CT. [Online]. Available: http://earth.esa.int/campaigns/DOC/BIOSAR2-final-report.pdf
46. L. M. H. Ulander, A. Gustavsson, P. Dubois-Fernandez, X. Dupuis, J. E. S. Fransson, J. Holmgren, J. Wallerman, L. E. B. Eriksson, G. Sandberg, and M. J. Soja, "BioSAR 2010 - A SAR campaign in support to the BIOMASS mission," in Proc. IEEE IGARSS, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Jul. 2011, pp. 1528-1531.
47. L. M. H. Ulander, A. Gustavsson, B. Flood, D. Murdin, P. Dubois- Fernandez, X. Depuis, G. Sandberg, M. J. Soja, L. E. B. Eriksson, J. E. S. Fransson, J. Holmgren, and J. Wallerman, BioSAR 2010 Technical Assistance for the Development of Airborne SAR and Geophysical Measurements During the BioSAR 2010 Experiment: Final Report, Eur. Space Agency, Paris, France, Tech. Rep. ESA Contract No. 4000102285/10/NL/JA/ef. [Online]. Available: http://earth.esa. int/campaigns/DOC/BioSAR-2010-final-report-v1.0.pdf
48. J. E. S. Fransson, F. Walter, and L. M. H. Ulander, "Estimation of forest parameters using CARABAS-II VHF SAR data," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 720-727, Mar. 2000. (Pubitemid 30594757)
49. L. G. Marklund, "Biomassafunktioner för Tall, Gran och Björk i Sverige," Institutionen för Skogstaxering, Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet, Umeå, Sweden, Rapport 45, 1988.
50. H. Petersson, "Biomassafunktioner for Trädfraktioner av Tall, Gran Och Björk i Sverige," SLU, Institutionen för skoglig resurshållning och geomatik, Umeå, Sweden, Tech. Rep. Arbetsrapport 59, 1999.
51. J. E. S. Fransson, M. Magnusson, G. Sandberg, L. M. H. Ulander, and A. Gustavsson, "Forest Database for Single Trees in Remningstorp, Version 2.0," Västergötland, Sweden, 2008.
52. J.-S. Lee and E. Pottier, Polarimetric Radar Imaging: From Basics to Applications. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2009.
53. L. M. H. Ulander, "Radiometric slope correction of synthetic aperture radar images," IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 1115-1122, Sep. 1996.
54. T. Le Toan, L. Ulander, G. Sandberg, B. Petrucci, L. Villard, P. Borderies, P. Dubois-Fernandez, S. Angelliaume, M. Qui nones, D. Hoekman, K. Papathanassiou, F. Kugler, S.-K. Lee, F. Garestier, A. Couhert, and J. Valteau, "P-band SAR Wave Interaction and Information Retrieval: Analysis and Inversion of P-Band SAR Data for Forest Biomass and Height Mapping," Eur. Space Agency, Paris, France, Tech. Rep. ESA Contract No. 20290/06/NL/LvH, 2011.
55. N. R. Draper and H. Smith, Applied Regression Analysis, 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 1998.