Rice crop mapping and monitoring using ERS-1 data based on experiment and modeling results

Information on rice growing areas and on rice growth conditions are necessary in rice monitoring programs and in studies on the emission of methane from flooded rice fields. The objective of this paper is to assess the use of ERS-1 SAR data to map rice growing areas and to retrieve rice parameters. The approach includes first a synthesis of experimental results at two different test areas followed by a development of a theoretical model to interpret the observations. The synthesis of experimental data at two test areas, a tropical site with short cycle rice (Semarang, Indonesia) and a temperate site with long cycle rice (Akita, Japan), has shown that flooded rice fields have characteristic increasing temporal radar responses. When the radar backscattering coefficients are expressed as a function of the rice biomass, the effect of cultural practices and climate (long cycle versus short cycle) is reduced. The observations have been interpreted by a theoretical model, which relies on a realistic description of rice plants and which considers the backscattering enhancement and clustering effects of the scatterers. Good agreement has been obtained between experimental data and theoretical results. The strong temporal variation of the radar response of rice fields is due to the wave-vegetation-water interaction, which increases from the transplanting stage to reproductive stage. By simulations using the validated model, the length of the rice cycle or the rice varieties have shown minor effects on the temporal curve. A method for rice fields mapping has been developed, based on the temporal variation of the radar response between two acquisition dates. Inversion of SAR images into plant height and plant biomass has also been performed. The results appear promising for the use of ERS-1 and RADARSAT data for rice monitoring