Spatial Anisotropy Assessment of the Forest Vegetation Heterogeneity at Different Azimuth Angles of Radar Polarimetric Sensing

Abstract

The results of studies to assess the texture of L- and C-band radar polarimetric images from SIR-C and ALOS PALSAR-1 satellites for analyzing forest-vegetation characteristics using different signatures are summarized. A fractal polarization signature is proposed for the study; this signature makes it possible to estimate the spatial anisotropy of forest-vegetation heterogeneities at different azimuthal angles of radar sensing. In addition, the signature of lacunarity is suggested as a tool for the qualitative assessment of the angular distribution of tree branches. The heterogeneities of forest vegetation at the test site near Lake Baikal are estimated based on the results of an analysis of the fractal dimension and lacunarity at different states of the polarization ellipse.