干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

This paper discusses the potential of radar signal to characterise the stone cover over bare soil surfaces in and rocky regions. A high correlation was observed between radar measurements and stone cover percentage. Numerical Moment method based on integral equations of backscattering has been used to study the influence of the stone cover on simulated radar signal. Simulations are validated with measurements acquired in two and sites. A good agreement is demonstrated between numerical simulations and radar ERS2 measurements. An empirical model is then proposed to inverse radar measurements and retrieve stone cover percentage.