Shuttle imaging radar A analysis of land use in Amazonia

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Abstract
Over large areas in the tropics satellite imagery is the principal source of data on the area, current stature, and extent of disturbance of the forests. The information from imagery that covers large areas at low resolution is greatly enhanced when different types of imagery can be compared. We have made a comparison of data from Landsat MSS and from the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) L band HH polarization data for sites in the Amazon Basin. Results indicate that SIR-A backscatter from the undisturbed forest was lower than that from some disturbed areas and from flooded forests and that SIR-A brightness increases nonlinearly with the Landsat normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). We hypothesize that the brightest radar returns in southern Amazonia are from newly cleared forests that are littered with standing and fallen tree boles that function as corner reflectors; and that backscatter will diminish from disturbed areas over time as fields are burned repeatedly.