Forest inventory applications using optical and RADARSAT-2 images in mexico

There is a need in Mexico for accurate and up to date forest inventories due to concerns related with sustainable development programs. Forest inventories in the past have been incomplete and are not useful at regional levels. The national forest inventory is scheduled to be updated soon -optical remote sensing techniques and traditional field surveying are envisaged. There are no operational applications of radar remote sensing for forest management within government agencies or academic institutions in the country. Forest land cover is dynamical due to urban area growth, illegal logging and forest clearing for agricultural purposes in many regions. A previous land cover project combined Landsat-ETM and RADARSAT-1 imagery in Central Mexico, where forest areas are frequently foggy. A current project involves testing the potential benefits of combining polarimetric radar and optical data for forest applications. RADARSAT-2 imagery will be used as part of the Science and Operational Applications Research Program. The project aims to evaluate combined optical/radar approaches to improve forest inventory at regional scales. As a first step the total forested area is determined from optical SPOT 5 images. We show preliminary results from the optical data which are being validated on the field. As RADARSAT-2 imagery become available, polarization signatures for forest parameters will be obtained. Further work will evaluate the complementarities with optical signatures in determining forest species.