Analysis and experimentation on ecosystems

The objective of this work is to provide an experimental assessment of the accuracy to retrieve forest height in tropical areas by using P-band multibaseline SAR data. Two different approaches are considered for retrieving forest height: i) parametric inversion based on the assumption of RVoG model, and ii) direct assessment by thresholding the estimated tomographic intensities. Both approaches are tested based on P-band data from the ESA campaigns: TropiSAR, flown in French Guiana in 2009. Validations are carried out by performing pixel-by-pixel comparisons against the canopy height model (CHM) derived from LiDAR measurements. Results show that at a resolution of 25 m×25 m, both of the two approaches are able to retrieve forest height to within an accuracy of about 3.5 m or better over the interval of forest height between 20 to 40 m.