Monitoring Forest Change By Means Of Multibaseline L-Band SAR Remote Ssensing: The Traunstein Test Case

Abstract

The advancements in processing and inversion of multi-baseline SAR techniques during the last years triggered the development of a new generation of forest monitoring applications by means of SAR remote sensing. At the same time the progress in SAR technology makes possible the implementation and operation of a new generation of spaceborne SAR configurations able to realize these applications on a global scale with a high spatial and temporal resolution. In the poster we demonstrate and validate multi-baseline SAR applications for monitoring forest change and dynamics at different temporal scales. For this we use airborne (L-band polarimetric repeat-pass interferometric) SAR data collected under different environmental and seasonal conditions systematically over a period of 12 years (2003-2015) over the Traunstein test site. Traunstein is a heterogeneous temperate forest located in southern Germany, with a wide range of stand compositions, stand heights (from 10 to 40m) and stand biomass (mean biomass level of 200 Mg/ha and stands up to 500 Mg/ha). In these 12 years a wide spectrum of changes occurred caused by changed strategies in forest management, wind throw, and de- or re-forestation activities. In this poster, experimental results are presented in order to demonstrate and/or validate (1) Forest height and forest height change; (2) Forest vertical structure and its change; (3) Forest biomass and its change.