Retrieval of forest structure and moisture from SAR data using an estimation algorithm

The inversion of physics-based models presents a promising alternative to empirical relationships for the retrieval of forest structure from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, one particular advantage being the ability to include information on soil and vegetation moisture. This paper describes a two-stage estimation algorithm for retrieving canopy and stem parameters, applied to AIRSAR data over a site in Queensland, Australia and validated using eight field plots.