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Evaluation of multifrequency SAR data for estimating tropical above-ground biomass by employing radiative transfer modeling

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Abstract

The retrieval of the biophysical parameters and subsequent estimation of the above-ground biomass (AGB) of vegetation stands are made possible by the simulation of the extinction and scattering components from the canopy layer using vector radiative transfer (VRT) theory-based scattering models. With the use of such a model, this study aims to evaluate and compare the potential of dual-pol, multi-frequency SAR data for estimating above-ground biomass. The data selected for this work are L-band dual polarized (HH/HV) ALOS-2 data, S-band dual polarized (HH/HV) NovaSAR data, and C-band dual polarized (VV/VH) Sentinel-1 data. The two key biophysical parameters, tree height, and trunk radius are retrieved using the proposed methodology, applying the frequencies independently. A general allometric equation with vegetation-specific coefficients is used to estimate the AGB from the retrieved biophysical parameters. The retrieval results are validated using ground truth measurements collected from the study area. The L-band, with the coefficient of determination (\(R^2\)) of 0.73 and the root mean square error (RMSE) of 35.90 t/ha, has the best correlation between the modeled and field AGBs, followed by the S-band with an \(R^2\) of 0.37 and an RMSE of 63.37 t/ha, and the C-band with an \(R^2\) of 0.25 and an RMSE of 72.32 t/ha. The L-band has yielded improved estimates of AGB in regression analysis as well, with an \(R^2\) of 0.48 and an RMSE of 50.02 t/ha, compared to the S- and C-bands, which have the \(R^2\) of 0.12 and 0.03 and the RMSE of 70.98 t/ha and 80.84 t/ha, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Japanese Space Exploration Agency (JAXA) for providing ALOS-2 data under the research agreement and to National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO for providing NovaSAR data.

Funding

This research was funded by the Space Application Centre, ISRO as part of the L &S airborne RA Scheme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, All Saints’ College, Thiruvananthapuram, 695007, Kerala, India

    Faseela V. Sainuddin & Smitha V. Asok

  2. Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad, 380015, Gujarat, India

    Sanid Chirakkal, Anup Kumar Das & Deepak Putrevu

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  1. Faseela V. Sainuddin
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Contributions

Faseela V. Sainuddin: conceptualization, data collection, data curation, software, interpretation, visualization, writing the original draft, and revising and editing the manuscript. Sanid Chirakkal: conceptualization, data collection, validation, and revising and editing the manuscript. Smitha V. Asok: data collection, supervision, validation, and revising and editing the manuscript. Anup Kumar Das: project administration, funding acquisition, and revising and editing the manuscript. Deepak Putrevu: supervision and revising and editing the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Faseela V. Sainuddin.

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Sainuddin, F.V., Chirakkal, S., Asok, S.V. et al. Evaluation of multifrequency SAR data for estimating tropical above-ground biomass by employing radiative transfer modeling. Environ Monit Assess 195, 1102 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11715-7

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