I. Champion et al., EFFECT OF FOREST THINNING ON THE RADAR BACKSCATTERING COEFFICIENT AT L-BAND, International journal of remote sensing, 19(11), 1998, pp. 2233-2238
This letter presents preliminary results of a study concerning the inf
luence of forest thinning on the backscattering coefficient (sigma deg
rees) at L-band by using data from the JPL-NASA campaign MAESTRO-1 and
MacEurope on Les Landes forest, France. The backscattering coefficien
t of thinned and unthinned stands were compared and interpreted with t
he help of model simulations. It is shown that thinning significantly
influences the backscattering coefficient of adult stands, particularl
y at HV polarisation where sigma degrees was reduced by up to 4 dB. Mo
reover, the density variation of the stand did not explain all this de
crease in sigma degrees. Secondary structure modifications induced by
the thinning are likely to have considerable influence on the backscat
tering coefficient.