Simulation of interferometric SAR response to deciduous and coniferous forest stands

A coherent scattering model for tree canopies is employed in order to characterize the sensitivity of an interferometric SAR (INSAR) response to the physical parameters of forest stands. Combining the recently developed coherent scattering model for tree canopies and the INSAR Δk-radar equivalence algorithm, for the first time accurate statistics of the scattering phase center location of forest stands are obtained numerically. The scattering model is based on a Monte Carlo simulation of scattering from fractal generated tree structures, and therefore is capable of preserving the absolute phase of the backscatter. The model can also account for coherent effects and the inhomogeneous extinction. The location of the scattering phase center and the correlation coefficient are computed using the Δk-radar equivalence, simply by simulating the backscatter response at two slightly different frequencies. The model is successfully validated using the measured data acquired by JPL TOPSAR over a selected pine stand in Raco, Michigan