Multitemporal C-Band radar measurements on wheat fields

Abstract—This paper investigates the relationship between
C-band backscatter measurements and wheat biomass and the
underlying soil moisture content. It aims to define strategies for
retrieval algorithms with a view to using satellite C-band synthetic
aperture radar (SAR) data to monitor wheat growth. The study is
based on a ground-based scatterometer experiment conducted on
a wheat field at the Matera site in Italy during the 2001 growing
season. From March to June 2001, eight C-band scatterometer
acquisitions at horizontal–horizontal and vertical–vertical polarization,
with incidence angles ranging from 23 to 60 , were
taken. At the same time, soil moisture, wheat biomass, and canopy
structure were collected The paper describes the experiment
and investigates the radar sensitivity to biophysical parameters
at different polarizations and incidence angles, and at different
wheat phenological stages. Based on the experimental results,
the retrieval of wheat biomass and soil moisture content using
Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar data is discussed.