Radar modeling of a boreal forest

The authors report on the use of microwave modeling, ground truth, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to investigate the characteristics of forest stands. A mixed coniferous forest stand has been modeled at SAR frequencies (P-, L-, and C-bands). The extensive measurements of ground truth and canopy geometry parameters were performed in a 200 m-square hemlock-dominated plot inside a forest. Hemlock trees in the forest are modeled by characterizing tree trunks, branches, and needles (leaves) with randomly oriented, lossy dielectric cylinders whose area and orientation distributions are prescribed. The distorted Born approximation is used to compute the backscatter at P-, L-, and C-SAR frequencies.< >