A Multiple Scattering Model for C-Band Backscatter of Wheat Canopies

A radar backscatter model for wheat canopy is developed to interpret the variations of the C-band backscattering coefficient measured by the spaceborne ERS SAR during the wheat growth. Since the wheat canopy appears to be a dense medium during the fully developed stage, a multiple scattering modeling is required. In the presented model, wheat canopy is described by vertical stems over a rough ground and a system of linear equations is solved using the Multiple Scattering Foldy-Lax formulation. Because of the great number of unknowns. An efficient Generalized Minimal Residual iterative method coupled with the Sparse Matrix Canonical Grid has been developed. The modeling results are compared with data acquired by ERS.