Relationships between the component biomass of woodlands in Australia and data from airborne and spaceborne SAR

The study assesses the consistency of relationships between the component (leaf, branch, and trunk) biomass of Australian woodlands and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) backscatter data acquired by airborne TOPSAR and spaceborne SIR-C SAR. Strongest relationships were observed between TOPSAR P-band data and all components of the biomass, with P-band HV considered most suited for quantifying total above ground biomass (TAGB) due to the larger dynamic range of the data and greater saturation level (80-100 Mg ha-1) in the relationship with TAGB. The main similarities observed between sensors were the strength of the relationships between C- and L- band data and component biomass, and the TAGB saturation levels of 20-30 Mg ha-1 and 50-60 Mg ha-1 for C- and L-band respectively