2015 Volume 24 Issue 3 Pages 101-111
Weather-tolerant Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) is expected to generate data for biomass estimation in tropical rainforests. We tested this prediction by examining the performance of X-band IFSAR data in estimating total biomass (TB), i.e., the sum of aboveground and belowground biomasses, in a selectively logged tropical rainforest. Our explorations incorporated the effects of topographic conditions on the accuracy of the procedure used. TB was estimated by a rectangular prism procedure, an original method developed for this study, using IFSAR-derived canopy height data and revised biomass density data (i.e., apparent density of total aboveground biomass [AGB] under a canopy tree). For gentle terrain conditions such as alluvial place, we found a significant correlation between TB estimates provided by IFSAR and field measurement data. Through application of a correction procedure, we were also able to adequately estimate the mean value and frequency distribution of TB. Estimation of TB in complex landscape topographies was restricted by the bias in IFSAR data.
