ELECTROMAGNETIC SCATTERING FROM AGRICULTURAL VEGETATION IN CLUSTERS USING MONTE-CARLO SIMULATION

An electromagnetic scattering model for agricultural vegetation where leaves occur in clusters is developed in this letter. By applying the Monte Carlo simulation technique, the backscattering properties of veg etation are studied for two different cases where the position distrib ution of clusters is regular or random. The results show that the posi tion distribution of clusters plays an important role in determining t he observed coherent effects. The incoherent scattering parts in the t wo different cases are almost equal and the regular position distribut ion of clusters can lead to a strong coherent part despite the random orientation of leaves. The work of this letter indicates that it is ne cessary for theoretical scattering models to take the position distrib ution of clusters into account.