Multilayered Multiple-species Forest Scattering Model Based on a Wave Theory Approach

A realistic radar scattering model to predict backscattering cross section for different frequencies and polarizations is an important tool for understanding the relationship between radar measurement and forest properties, and for enabling the estimation of forest parameters from radar data. Popular, conventional models typically specify a two-layer discrete random medium placed on a continuous random rough surface representing the ground. These can effectively model a single-species forest, but cannot readily incorporate variety in forest compositional complexity, from sparsely forested steppe to multi-story tropical forest (understory, shrubs, and overstory), whether single(with variation in growth stages) or multi-species. A more realistic representation of complex forest with multiple species has to take multiple layers and their interactions into account. Here, we present an N-layered vegetated medium model using a discrete-component scattering model. This model is based on wave theory, in contrast with an existing multilayer model based on radiative transfer theory (RT) developed in our group previously [1].