Mapping vegetation structure for biodiversity analysis using synthetic aperture radar

An integrated remote sensing/field ecology project was carried out to link the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and other remotely sensed data to studies of landscape spatial heterogeneity and bird community ecology as a first step toward applications in predicting biodiversity. P-, L-, and C-band SAR data were collected over a section of the South Alligator River in Kakadu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory as part of the Joint NASA/Australia DC-8 AIRSAR data acquisition campaign in 1993 and the NASA/PACRIM AIRSAR deployment in 1996. The SAR data were analyzed with field data integrating vegetation structure and floristics with bird abundances across a heterogeneous study site that spanned several abrupt habitat edges. Results indicate that SAR data are able to discern structural differences relevant to bird habitat quality within floristically homogeneous stands, while multispectral sensors successfully identified floristic differences among habitat types.