TanDEM-X Forest Map
The TanDEM-X Forest/Non-Forest Map by the Microwaves and Radar Institute at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) features a global forest/non-forest classification mosaic from TanDEM-X bistatic interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data, acquired for the generation of the global digital elevation model (DEM) between 2011 and 2015 in stripmap single polarization (HH) mode.
The global data set of quicklook images with a ground resolution of 50 m x 50 m, was used. As input for the classification the calibrated amplitude, the bistatic coherence, and the digital elevation model (DEM) height information was used. In particular, the volume correlation factor quantifies the amount of decorrelation due to multiple scattering within a volume, which typically occurs in presence of vegetation. This quantity is directly derived from the interferometric coherence and used as main indicator for the identification of vegetated areas. For this purpose, a fuzzy multi-clustering classification approach, which takes into account the geometric acquisition configuration for the definition of the cluster centers, is individually applied to each acquired scene. A certain variability of the interferometric coherence in X-band has been observed among different forest types, mainly due to changes in forest structure, density, and tree height. This lead to an adjustment of the algorithm settings, and in particular to the derivation of different cluster centers, depending on the considered type of forest. Additional layers are utilized for filtering out water bodies, cities, deserts, and geographic regions above the tree line.
Usage requirements
| Required? | Remark | |
| Registration on EO-Lab | Yes | For processing on EO-Lab |
| Cloud resources on EO-Lab | Yes | For processing on EO-Lab |
| Individual request | No | --- |
Data Access
Depending on the environment and the intended use, there are several ways to access the data:
- EO Browser: TerraSAR-X & Tandem-X --> TanDEM-X Forest/Non-Forest Map
- EO Finder: -
- Path to Repository on Virtual Machine:
/eolab/tandem-x/global-forest-nonforest-map
/eolab/tandem-x/global-forest-nonforest-map-COG
References
The following list of references does not claim to be exhaustive, but it does provide an initial introduction to more advanced specialised literature.
- M. Martone, P. Rizzoli, G. Krieger, Volume Decorrelation Effects in TanDEM-X Interferometric SAR Data, IEEE GRSL, Vol. 13, No. 12, December 2016
- M. Martone, P. Rizzoli, C. Wecklich, C. Gonzalez, J.-L. Bueso-Bello, P. Valdo, D. Schulze, M. Zink, G. Krieger, and A. Moreira, "The Global Forest/Non-Forest Map from TanDEM-X Interferometric SAR Data," Remote Sensing of Environment, vol. 205, pp. 352–373, Feb. 2018.
Terms of use
Use of the product is subject to the following terms of use:
