Potential of Sentinel-1 Radar Data for the Assessment of Soil and Cereal Cover Parameters
The main objective of this study is to analyze the potential use of Sentinel-1 (S1) radar data for the estimation of soil characteristics (roughness and water content) and cereal vegetation parameters (leaf area index (LAI), and vegetation height (H)) in agricultural areas. Simultaneously to several...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-11-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/17/11/2617 |
| _version_ | 1798003688039514112 |
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| author | Safa Bousbih Mehrez Zribi Zohra Lili-Chabaane Nicolas Baghdadi Mohammad El Hajj Qi Gao Bernard Mougenot |
| author_facet | Safa Bousbih Mehrez Zribi Zohra Lili-Chabaane Nicolas Baghdadi Mohammad El Hajj Qi Gao Bernard Mougenot |
| author_sort | Safa Bousbih |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The main objective of this study is to analyze the potential use of Sentinel-1 (S1) radar data for the estimation of soil characteristics (roughness and water content) and cereal vegetation parameters (leaf area index (LAI), and vegetation height (H)) in agricultural areas. Simultaneously to several radar acquisitions made between 2015 and 2017, using S1 sensors over the Kairouan Plain (Tunisia, North Africa), ground measurements of soil roughness, soil water content, LAI and H were recorded. The NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) index computed from Landsat optical images revealed a strong correlation with in situ measurements of LAI. The sensitivity of the S1 measurements to variations in soil moisture, which has been reported in several scientific publications, is confirmed in this study. This sensitivity decreases with increasing vegetation cover growth (NDVI), and is stronger in the VV (vertical) polarization than in the VH cross-polarization. The results also reveal a similar increase in the dynamic range of radar signals observed in the VV and VH polarizations as a function of soil roughness. The sensitivity of S1 measurements to vegetation parameters (LAI and H) in the VV polarization is also determined, showing that the radar signal strength decreases when the vegetation parameters increase. No vegetation parameter sensitivity is observed in the VH polarization, probably as a consequence of volume scattering effects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:12:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-661862eda8444992943a8bfff3fbf43a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:12:49Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-661862eda8444992943a8bfff3fbf43a2022-12-22T04:24:34ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202017-11-011711261710.3390/s17112617s17112617Potential of Sentinel-1 Radar Data for the Assessment of Soil and Cereal Cover ParametersSafa Bousbih0Mehrez Zribi1Zohra Lili-Chabaane2Nicolas Baghdadi3Mohammad El Hajj4Qi Gao5Bernard Mougenot6CESBIO (CNRS/UPS/IRD/CNES), 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse CEDEX 9, FranceCESBIO (CNRS/UPS/IRD/CNES), 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse CEDEX 9, FranceUniversité de Carthage/INAT/LR GREEN-TEAM, 43 Avenue Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, TunisiaIRSTEA, UMR TETIS, 500 Rue François Breton, 34093 Montpellier CEDEX 5, FranceIRSTEA, UMR TETIS, 500 Rue François Breton, 34093 Montpellier CEDEX 5, FranceCESBIO (CNRS/UPS/IRD/CNES), 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse CEDEX 9, FranceCESBIO (CNRS/UPS/IRD/CNES), 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse CEDEX 9, FranceThe main objective of this study is to analyze the potential use of Sentinel-1 (S1) radar data for the estimation of soil characteristics (roughness and water content) and cereal vegetation parameters (leaf area index (LAI), and vegetation height (H)) in agricultural areas. Simultaneously to several radar acquisitions made between 2015 and 2017, using S1 sensors over the Kairouan Plain (Tunisia, North Africa), ground measurements of soil roughness, soil water content, LAI and H were recorded. The NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) index computed from Landsat optical images revealed a strong correlation with in situ measurements of LAI. The sensitivity of the S1 measurements to variations in soil moisture, which has been reported in several scientific publications, is confirmed in this study. This sensitivity decreases with increasing vegetation cover growth (NDVI), and is stronger in the VV (vertical) polarization than in the VH cross-polarization. The results also reveal a similar increase in the dynamic range of radar signals observed in the VV and VH polarizations as a function of soil roughness. The sensitivity of S1 measurements to vegetation parameters (LAI and H) in the VV polarization is also determined, showing that the radar signal strength decreases when the vegetation parameters increase. No vegetation parameter sensitivity is observed in the VH polarization, probably as a consequence of volume scattering effects.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/17/11/2617Sentinel-1radarC-bandsoilmoistureroughnessvegetationwater cloud modelbackscattering model |
| spellingShingle | Safa Bousbih Mehrez Zribi Zohra Lili-Chabaane Nicolas Baghdadi Mohammad El Hajj Qi Gao Bernard Mougenot Potential of Sentinel-1 Radar Data for the Assessment of Soil and Cereal Cover Parameters Sensors Sentinel-1 radar C-band soil moisture roughness vegetation water cloud model backscattering model |
| title | Potential of Sentinel-1 Radar Data for the Assessment of Soil and Cereal Cover Parameters |
| title_full | Potential of Sentinel-1 Radar Data for the Assessment of Soil and Cereal Cover Parameters |
| title_fullStr | Potential of Sentinel-1 Radar Data for the Assessment of Soil and Cereal Cover Parameters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential of Sentinel-1 Radar Data for the Assessment of Soil and Cereal Cover Parameters |
| title_short | Potential of Sentinel-1 Radar Data for the Assessment of Soil and Cereal Cover Parameters |
| title_sort | potential of sentinel 1 radar data for the assessment of soil and cereal cover parameters |
| topic | Sentinel-1 radar C-band soil moisture roughness vegetation water cloud model backscattering model |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/17/11/2617 |
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