Wide-band polarimetric radar inversion studies for vegetation layers

In this paper, me show how the entropy-alpha target decomposition scheme ma y be used fur parametric inversion studies on random particle cloud models for vegetation layers. The decomposition is detailed first and then applied to a two-parameter model for backscatter from a random cloud of small anis otropic particles. The two main parameters used are the mean particle shape and the mean orientation angle of the cloud. An inversion algorithm is pre sented and applied to broad-band polarimetric radar data from the European Microwave Signature Laboratory (EMSL), Joint Research Center, Ispra, Italy, The results have been obtained from measurements of a fir tree and a ficus tree. They show a wavelength scale dependence of the shape and distributio n of scatterers, which reflects the complex volume! scattering nature of su ch problems. Moreover, the values and trends from these two trees as a func tion of the frequency are different, as expected from their physical struct ures. Consequently, this algorithm has the potential to be useful in the co nstruction of classification schemes for vegetation.