Sentinel-1 InSAR Coherence as an Indicator of Monitor Farming Activities
Manuel Huber (European Space Agency (ESA), University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich)
Vineet Kumar (TU Delft - Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning)
S.C. Steele-Dunne (TU Delft - Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning)
Bjorn Rommen (European Space Agency (ESA))
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Abstract
Reliable crop monitoring is paramount to achieve the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Food and Agriculture Organization. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) provides high-resolution imaging and all-weather data acquisition capabilities for crop monitoring. This study investigates the sensitivity of parcel-level Sentinel-1 interferometric coherence to farming activities (e.g. planting, emergence, harvest and tillage) and weather events. A methodology to detect activities was developed and validated using ground-truth data from four crop types, collected over four years. The proposed approach was able to detect over 60% of all nine different farming activities. The results show that interferometric coherence is a reliable indicator for farming activities that can be considered as events resulting in a clear structural change (e.g. tillage 100%), but less reliable for gradual changes (e.g. Emergence 40%).