Radar backscatter components from ponderosa pine forests

The authors used a signal decomposition method to study scattering mechanisms in pine forests near Mt. Shasta, CA. Signal decomposition was applied to two sets of the JPL multifrequency airborne synthetic aperture radar (AIRSAR) backscatter data acquired during a wet spring (1991) and a dry summer (1989) conditions. The scattering mechanisms decomposed were scattering power with an odd number of reflections, scattering power with an even number of reflections, and diffused scattering power.