The potential of airborne polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data for quantifying and mapping the biomass and structural diversity of woodlands in semi-arid Australia.
type: CreativeWork
description: Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been steadily increasing since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s. The earth's climate is sensitive to alterations in these levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG), with significant changes in climate predicted long term. The adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 heralded a new age in terms of greenhouse gas accounting and emissions responsibility, for all nations. In Australia, carbon emissions from the Land Use and Land Use Change and Forestry sector are responsible for a large proportion of the national total emissions. Radar remote sensing has demonstrated considerable potential in the estimation and mapping of vegetation biomass and subsequently carbon. The aim of this research is to investigate the potential of airborne polarimetric radar for quantifying and mapping the biomass and structural diversity of woodlands in semi-arid Australia. Initial investigation focussed on the physical structure of the woodland, which revealed that despite a diversity of woodland associations, the species diversity was relatively low. Both excurrent and decurrent growth forms were present, which subsequently resulted in varying allocation of biomass to the components (i.e., branches, trunks). In view of this, both empirical and modelling methodologies were explored. Empirical relationships were established between SAR backscatter and the total above ground biomass. Considerable scatter was present in these relationships, which was attributed to the large range of species and their associated structures. Comparison of actual and model simulations for C-, L- and P-band wavelengths, reveal that no significant difference existed for these wavelengths, except at CHH, and the cross-polarised data at L- and P-band. The study confirmed that microwaves at C-band interacted largely with the leaves and small branches, with scattering at VV polarization dominating. Compared to the lower frequencies, the…
abstract: Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been steadily increasing since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s. The earth's climate is sensitive to alterations in these levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG), with significant changes in climate predicted long term. The adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 heralded a new age in terms of greenhouse gas accounting and emissions responsibility, for all nations. In Australia, carbon emissions from the Land Use and Land Use Change and Forestry sector are responsible for a large proportion of the national total emissions. Radar remote sensing has demonstrated considerable potential in the estimation and mapping of vegetation biomass and subsequently carbon. The aim of this research is to investigate the potential of airborne polarimetric radar for quantifying and mapping the biomass and structural diversity of woodlands in semi-arid Australia. Initial investigation focussed on the physical structure of the woodland, which revealed that despite a diversity of woodland associations, the species diversity was relatively low. Both excurrent and decurrent growth forms were present, which subsequently resulted in varying allocation of biomass to the components (i.e., branches, trunks). In view of this, both empirical and modelling methodologies were explored. Empirical relationships were established between SAR backscatter and the total above ground biomass. Considerable scatter was present in these relationships, which was attributed to the large range of species and their associated structures. Comparison of actual and model simulations for C-, L- and P-band wavelengths, reveal that no significant difference existed for these wavelengths, except at CHH, and the cross-polarised data at L- and P-band. The study confirmed that microwaves at C-band interacted largely with the leaves and small branches, with scattering at VV polarization dominating. Compared to the lower frequencies, the…
author: Cronin, Natasha Louise Rafaelle
language: EN
keywords: Synthetic aperture radar, Polarimetry, Forests and forestry Australia, Arid regions Australia.
license: https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/
date published: 2004
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:34:44Z
provider: University of New South Wales
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: UNSW, Sydney

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/30533

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.26190/unsworks/17569