TITLE:
Simple Relationship Analysis between L-Band Backscattering Intensity and the Stand Characteristics of Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) Trees
AUTHORS:
Kotaro Iizuka, Ryutaro Tateishi
KEYWORDS:
SAR, ALOS/PALSAR, Forest, Backscattering, Stem Volume, Biophysical Parameter
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Remote Sensing,
Vol.3 No.4,
November
28,
2014
ABSTRACT: In this study, we have
performed an analysis between the L-band backscattering intensity derived from
the slope corrected ALOS PALSAR remote sensing data and thein-situstand biophysical parameter of Sugi (Cryptomeria
japonica) and Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) trees at the forests of
Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height, and stem
volume were statistically compared with the slope corrected sigma naught
backscattering in an empirical approach. It was found that the relationship
between the backscattering and the stand characteristics was strongly dependent
on species showing different trends between the Sugi and Hinoki trees.The Hinoki trees showed an increasing
backscattering with increasing parameters (higher DBH, higher Tree height and
higher stem volume), as it was mentioned on various researches, while the Sugi
tree showed and decreasing backscattering with increasing parameters. Wehave also found for the Sugi trees
that the backscattering is affected strongly by the number of stems. We have
assumed that this is because of the characteristics of the Sugi trees which
have high moisture content in the heartwood of the stem, compared with other
tree species in Japan. The results pave the way to the possibility for
estimating biophysical parameters within the forests of Japan by considering
such trends and at highly rugged areas by using slope corrected imagery of the
SAR data.