DISCRIMINATION OF RICE CROP GROWN UNDER DIFFERENT CULTURAL-PRACTICES USING TEMPORAL ERS-1 SYNTHETIC-APERTURE RADAR DATA

Radar remote sensing has a significant role to play in remote sensing based crop inventory programmes due to its independence from cloud cov er. In this study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the utility of temporal ERS-1 SAR data to classify rice crop grown in different grow ing environments. The sites represent four major types of lowland cult ivation practice prevailing in India. Results showed more than 90% cla ssification accuracy for all types of wetland rice using three-date SA R data. Data acquired during the early vegetative stage were found ess ential for high accuracy. The accuracy was mainly affected by the pres ence of rivers/streams in the scene. High accuracy was obtained for lo wland intermediate and irrigated rice areas. A significant effect of w ind was observed on the radar backscatter from stagnant water bodies b ut not on the rice fields during early growth stages. The study indica tes the feasibility of operational use of ERS SAR data for estimation of areas of rice crop grown under lowland cultural practice.