Farmland monitoring with SAR interferometry

The potential of SAR interferometry for change monitoring is discussed. The selected application, farmland monitoring, is particularly challenging for its frequent changes due to farming activity, vegetation development, and meteorological influences. ERS repeat-pass SAR interferometry was used to map different types of change. Furthermore, such change was monitored, i.e. a time interval for the occurrence of the change could be indicated, using time series of repeat-pass ERS SAR data. During the winter season agricultural fields are usually bare or sparsely covered with vegetation. Therefore, high interferometric correlation is observed for most fields. Under these circumstances repeat-pass SAR interferometry allows the monitoring of farming activities (mechanical cultivation) and soil moisture changes. During the main growing season law interferometric correlation results from both, dense vegetation and farming activities. Harvesting can be recognized by the high interferometric correlation of the post-harvest bare or stubble fields