Mapping vegetation structure for biodiversity analysis usingsynthetic aperture radar

摘要

An integrated remote sensing/field ecology project was carried outto link the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and other remotelysensed data to studies of landscape spatial heterogeneity and birdcommunity ecology as a first step toward applications in predictingbiodiversity. P-, L-, and C-band SAR data were collected over a sectionof the South Alligator River in Kakadu National Park in Australia'sNorthern Territory as part of the Joint NASA/Australia DC-8 AIRSAR dataacquisition campaign in 1993 and the NASA/PACRIM AIRSAR deployment in1996. The SAR data were analyzed with field data integrating vegetationstructure and floristics with bird abundances across a heterogeneousstudy site that spanned several abrupt habitat edges. Results indicatethat SAR data are able to discern structural differences relevant tobird habitat quality within floristically homogeneous stands, whilemultispectral sensors successfully identified floristic differencesamong habitat types