InSAR-based estimation of forest above-ground biomass using phase histogram technique
This paper introduces a method for estimating forest above-ground biomass (AGB) using the Interferometric SAR (InSAR)-based Phase Histogram (PH) technique. This novel technique allows for the extraction of 3D vertical forest structure using only a single interferometric pair to acquire a coarse-reso...
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569843224007088 |
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| author | Chuanjun Wu Peng Shen Stefano Tebaldini Mingsheng Liao Lu Zhang |
| author_facet | Chuanjun Wu Peng Shen Stefano Tebaldini Mingsheng Liao Lu Zhang |
| author_sort | Chuanjun Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper introduces a method for estimating forest above-ground biomass (AGB) using the Interferometric SAR (InSAR)-based Phase Histogram (PH) technique. This novel technique allows for the extraction of 3D vertical forest structure using only a single interferometric pair to acquire a coarse-resolution backscatter intensity distribution in the height direction. Through 3D backscatter distribution, we can extract forest height, the intensity at predefined height bins and introduce the volume-to-ground intensity ratio (VGR) factor to investigate their sensitivities to forest AGB. To validate the method, we use the airborne fully polarized TomoSense dataset, flight-tested by European Space Agency (ESA) in Kermeter area at Eifel National Park, Germany, in 2020. We adopt both multivariate linear stepwise regression (MLSR) and random forest (RF) models to verify the feasibility of the PH technique in forest AGB estimation. Experimental results show that the PH technique effectively captures the vertical structure of the forest at a certain resolution. The forest height, the PH-derived backscatter intensity at a fixed height and VGR have good positive correlation with AGB. Notably, combining forest height, the intensity at fixed height layers and VGR significantly improves the inversion precision of forest AGB. Specifically, compared with LiDAR-derived AGB, the average root-mean-square error (RMSE) of MLSR and RF models estimates combining P- and L-band 2D + 3D observables are 57.92 ton/ha and 55.11 ton/ha, with Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) of 0.75 and 0.77, respectively. This study presents a promising alternative approach for current and future SAR Earth observation missions aimed at forest vertical structure construction and AGB estimation when only a few of single-polarization SAR images are available. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-662235b20d294b6ebe5f07b07a2c53fa |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1569-8432 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation |
| spelling | doaj-art-662235b20d294b6ebe5f07b07a2c53fa2025-08-20T03:01:13ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation1569-84322025-02-0113610435010.1016/j.jag.2024.104350InSAR-based estimation of forest above-ground biomass using phase histogram techniqueChuanjun Wu0Peng Shen1Stefano Tebaldini2Mingsheng Liao3Lu Zhang4State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079 Hubei, ChinaSchool of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079 Hubei, China; Key Laboratory of Smart Earth, Beijing 100029, China; Corresponding authors.Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politechnico di Milano, Milan, 20133, Milan, ItalyState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079 Hubei, China; Corresponding authors.State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079 Hubei, ChinaThis paper introduces a method for estimating forest above-ground biomass (AGB) using the Interferometric SAR (InSAR)-based Phase Histogram (PH) technique. This novel technique allows for the extraction of 3D vertical forest structure using only a single interferometric pair to acquire a coarse-resolution backscatter intensity distribution in the height direction. Through 3D backscatter distribution, we can extract forest height, the intensity at predefined height bins and introduce the volume-to-ground intensity ratio (VGR) factor to investigate their sensitivities to forest AGB. To validate the method, we use the airborne fully polarized TomoSense dataset, flight-tested by European Space Agency (ESA) in Kermeter area at Eifel National Park, Germany, in 2020. We adopt both multivariate linear stepwise regression (MLSR) and random forest (RF) models to verify the feasibility of the PH technique in forest AGB estimation. Experimental results show that the PH technique effectively captures the vertical structure of the forest at a certain resolution. The forest height, the PH-derived backscatter intensity at a fixed height and VGR have good positive correlation with AGB. Notably, combining forest height, the intensity at fixed height layers and VGR significantly improves the inversion precision of forest AGB. Specifically, compared with LiDAR-derived AGB, the average root-mean-square error (RMSE) of MLSR and RF models estimates combining P- and L-band 2D + 3D observables are 57.92 ton/ha and 55.11 ton/ha, with Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) of 0.75 and 0.77, respectively. This study presents a promising alternative approach for current and future SAR Earth observation missions aimed at forest vertical structure construction and AGB estimation when only a few of single-polarization SAR images are available.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569843224007088Above-ground biomass (AGB)phase histogram (PH)InSARVertical structureVolume-to-groundTomoSense |
| spellingShingle | Chuanjun Wu Peng Shen Stefano Tebaldini Mingsheng Liao Lu Zhang InSAR-based estimation of forest above-ground biomass using phase histogram technique International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation Above-ground biomass (AGB) phase histogram (PH) InSAR Vertical structure Volume-to-ground TomoSense |
| title | InSAR-based estimation of forest above-ground biomass using phase histogram technique |
| title_full | InSAR-based estimation of forest above-ground biomass using phase histogram technique |
| title_fullStr | InSAR-based estimation of forest above-ground biomass using phase histogram technique |
| title_full_unstemmed | InSAR-based estimation of forest above-ground biomass using phase histogram technique |
| title_short | InSAR-based estimation of forest above-ground biomass using phase histogram technique |
| title_sort | insar based estimation of forest above ground biomass using phase histogram technique |
| topic | Above-ground biomass (AGB) phase histogram (PH) InSAR Vertical structure Volume-to-ground TomoSense |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569843224007088 |
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