S-RVoG model for forest parameters inversion over underlying topography

Since the terrain slope cannot be neglected for forest height inversion with polarimetric synthetic aperture radar interferometry (PolInSAR), a sloped random volume over ground (S-RVoG) model is proposed to correct the terrain distortion for forest parameters estimation. A significant model complexity reduction is achieved by aligning the reference frame along the local terrain slope and changing the corresponding radar geometrical configuration. The proposed S-RVoG model inversion promises to provide much more accurate estimation of forest parameters and is validated with L-band PolInSAR data produced by PolSARpro software developed by the European Space Agency (ESA).