Research Group
Thiago Silva (INPE, Brazil - PI)
Maycira Costa (UVic)
Evlyn Novo (INPE)
John Melack (UCSB)
Lauriana Sartori (PhD student, UNES)
Summary
Given the clear need for better understanding and quantification of vegetation dynamics and variability in the Amazon floodplain, the present study proposes to fully evaluate the synergistic use of Radarsat 2 and TerraSAR-X systems to study vegetation communities in the Amazon floodplain, through the following objectives:
- Evaluate the effectiveness of combined C and X band and multiple polarization information in providing an operational, accurate method for macrophyte cover mapping and monitoring in the Amazon floodplain environment;
- Evaluate the effectiveness of C and X band and multiple polarization information in discriminating woody vegetation cover and capturing the phenology of woody species in the Amazon floodplain environment;
- Evaluate the added capabilities of full polarimetric information for discriminating among tree, shrub and macrophyte species in the Amazon floodplain;
- Evaluate the relative effectiveness of ScanSAR data for large scale mapping of vegetation communities, when compared to standard resolution products;
- Evaluate the suitability of high-resolution C and X band images as a basis for visual interpretation and validation of classification results, in order to reduce ground truthing efforts for the inaccessible areas of the floodplain.
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