Evaluation of multi-temporal ERS-1 SAR data for tropical forest mapping in Papua New Guinea

In the frame of the joint ESA/EU TREES (Tropical Ecosystem Environmental observations by Satellites) project the potential of mono and multi-temporal ERS-1 SAR data are investigated with the main aim of discriminating forest and non-forest. An assessment of optimal acquisition dates is also undertaken and a comparison is made with Landsat TM data. ERS-1 SAR data acquired at the appropriate times are found to be a viable alternative to high resolution optical data for forest/non-forest discrimination, with the additional advantage of being able to penetrate cloud in an area where there is a high probability of cloud cover.