P-band polarimetric model of vertical tree stems on sloping ground

A fully polarimetric model is implemented to simulate backscatter from boreal forest. The aim is to correct for topography on a sub-stand level during the recovery of forest properties from P-band SAR data, specifically directed at the upcoming BIOMASS mission. The model incorporates the direct, double-bounce and triple-bounce scattering from tree stems on a sloping ground. Topography is introduced by assigning an independent and arbitrarily oriented local ground plane to each tree. Simulated SAR images are produced from in-situ measurements and a high resolution digital topography model (DTM) based on LiDAR data. These were obtained during BioSAR 2010 together with the corresponding SAR images, which are used for validation.