Fusion of Optical and Sar Satellite Data for Improved Land Cover Mapping in Agricultural Areas

Focus of this paper is on the integration of optical and SAR data for improved land cover mapping in agricultural areas. The test site is located east of Nordhausen, Thuringia, Germany. From April to December 2005 Landsat-5 TM, ASAR APP and ERS-2 data were acquired continuously over the test site building up a comprehensive time series. Regarding the fusion of optical and SAR data following three aspects will be addressed by this paper. The value of different methodologies for the synergistic usage of both data types is subject of a first analysis. Multitemporal SAR images provide an important data base for land cover and crop type mapping issues. This will be demonstrated in the second section of this paper. Finally, a classification scheme for the generation of basic land cover maps using both optical and SAR data will be presented. With respect to operational applications the proposed procedure should have a high potential for automation.