Biophysical Parameter Retrieval Using Compact-Pol SAR Data

In this chapter, we describe the methodology for crop biophysical parameter estimation using compact-pol SAR data. Here, we detail the modified form of the semi-empirical Water Cloud Model (MWCM). The scattering power components obtained from the \(iS-\Omega \) decomposition are used to invert the Modified WCM (MWCM). Results are analyzed with the simulated RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) data sets for estimating Plant Area Index (PAI) of rice over the Joint Experiment for Crop Assessment and Monitoring (JECAM) test site in Vijayawada, India. Additionally, we investigate results for soybean crops over the JECAM test site in Carman, Canada. The accuracies of PAI estimates (MWCM- \(iS-\Omega \)) are subsequently compared with estimates obtained from the conventional WCM (i.e., directly using backscatter intensities \(\sigma ^{\circ }_\text {RH}\) and \(\sigma ^{\circ }_\text {RV}\)) and MWCM with the \(m-\chi \) decomposition scattering powers.