Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar for Estimating Above-ground Woody Biomass in Tropical Savanna Woodland

The capability of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for estimating above-ground woody biomass in tropical savanna woodland is investigated, primarily through the estimation of canopy height from SAR interferometry (InSAR). The study area is a heterogeneous savanna woodland. Radar data used are AIRSAR C-band SAR interferometry (InSAR) and fully polarimetric L and P band SAR and Intermap Technologies V band InSAR data. Results show that although X and C-band DSMs are indicative of general vegetation patterns, the height retrieval remains inaccurate due to the heterogeneity of the savanna woodland canopy. Initial results also show that L-hv and P-hv backscatter is dominated not only by high biomass areas, but also by areas of leafy palmetto.