The Radar Backscatter from Selected Agricultural Crops

Abstract

To study the possible use of the radar backscatter coefficient for purposes of vegetation inventory a series of measurements was undertaken on radar ground returns. Single vegetation species were studied. Use was made of stable platforms (television towers) with the radar at an altitude of 75 m above the terrain. The influence of weather and season was investigated. It was shown that a single vegetation type behaves as a Rayleigh scatterer. The radar backscatter coefficient as a function of frequency and polarization proves to be the only usable classifier to classify vegetations with the aid of radar.