Monitoring of the change of vegetative conditions using multitemporal SAR data

SAR data have higher potential for monitoring than optical sensor data because of its capability for data acquisition in any weather condition. The authors studied the applicability of SAR data for monitoring the change of vegetative conditions caused by seasonal variation, flooding and biomass burning. As to the biomass burning, the authors investigated the change of SAR backscatter due to the forest fire. Through these experimental studies, the authors suggested the possibility of L-band SAR data by JERS-1 for practical monitoring of several types of changes of vegetative conditions.