ASSESSMENT OF ENVISAT ASAR ALTERNATING POLARISATION DATA FOR RICE MAPPING IN JIANGSU PROVINCE, CHINA

RESUME The aim of this paper is to assess the use of ENVISAT ASAR alternating polarisation data for rice field mapping. The assessment is carried out using HH and VV data acquired in 2005 over the test area in Hongze county, Jiangsu province in China, where ground data have been collected for validation. As previously expected, polarisation ratio HH/VV during the second half of the rice season proves to be a very efficient rice classifier. A simple single-date mapping algorithm has been derived and the result has been compared with in-situ local mapping. The first results appear promising and algorithm refinements are planned in the near future.