Sensitivity analysis of compact polarimetry parameters to crop growth using simulated RADARSAT-2 SAR data

The availability of advanced satellite radar sensors (C-band RADARSAT-2 and X-band TerraSAR-X) provides significant opportunities for timely monitoring of crop growth. Recent studies revealed that many polarimetric SAR parameters are sensitive to crop Leaf Area Index (LAI). However the reduced swath coverage of fully polarimetric SAR limits the operational application of these modes for large regional monitoring activities. Compact polarimetry mode, on the other hand, permits much larger swath coverage than fully polarimetric SAR. This study investigates the sensitivity of compact polarimetry SAR parameters to crop LAI using simulated data from RADARSAT-2 imagery collected in Canada over two growing seasons. Results revealed that compact polarimetric decomposition parameters associated with volumetric scattering are well correlated with crop LAI. This suggests that compact polarimetric SAR can be an important data source for large scale crop growth monitoring.