Remote Sens. 2014, 6(7), 6283-6299; doi:10.3390/rs6076283
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Interferometry for Assessing Wenchuan Earthquake (2008) Deforestation in the Sichuan Giant Panda Site
Fulong Chen 1,2,*
, Huadong Guo 1,2, Natarajan Ishwaran 2, Wei Zhou 1,2, Ruixia Yang 1,2, Linhai Jing 1, Fang Chen 1 and Hongcheng Zeng 3
, Huadong Guo 1,2, Natarajan Ishwaran 2, Wei Zhou 1,2, Ruixia Yang 1,2, Linhai Jing 1, Fang Chen 1 and Hongcheng Zeng 31
Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9 Dengzhuang South Road, Beijing 100094, China
2
International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under the Auspices of UNESCO, No. 9 Dengzhuang South Road, Beijing 100094, China
3
Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B3, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 5 March 2014 / Revised: 26 June 2014 / Accepted: 2 July 2014 / Published: 4 July 2014
Abstract
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been an unparalleled tool in cloudy and rainy regions as it allows observations throughout the year because of its all-weather, all-day operation capability. In this paper, the influence of Wenchuan Earthquake on the Sichuan Giant Panda habitats was evaluated for the first time using SAR interferometry and combining data from C-band Envisat ASAR and L-band ALOS PALSAR data. Coherence analysis based on the zero-point shifting indicated that the deforestation process was significant, particularly in habitats along the Min River approaching the epicenter after the natural disaster, and as interpreted by the vegetation deterioration from landslides, avalanches and debris flows. Experiments demonstrated that C-band Envisat ASAR data were sensitive to vegetation, resulting in an underestimation of deforestation; in contrast, L-band PALSAR data were capable of evaluating the deforestation process owing to a better penetration and the significant coherence gain on damaged forest areas. The percentage of damaged forest estimated by PALSAR decreased from 20.66% to 17.34% during 2009–2010, implying an approximate 3% recovery rate of forests in the earthquake impacted areas. This study proves that long-wavelength SAR interferometry is promising for rapid assessment of disaster-induced deforestation, particularly in regions where the optical acquisition is constrained. View Full-Text
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
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MDPI and ACS Style
Chen, F.; Guo, H.; Ishwaran, N.; Zhou, W.; Yang, R.; Jing, L.; Chen, F.; Zeng, H. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Interferometry for Assessing Wenchuan Earthquake (2008) Deforestation in the Sichuan Giant Panda Site. Remote Sens. 2014, 6, 6283-6299.
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