Estimation of Peatland Distribution Using Ratio Dual-pol from Sentinel-1A

Abstract

In Indonesia, forests fires particularly in tropical peatland have are a major problem unresolved. These conditions need a strong peatland management to control and reduce forest fires. Monitoring peatland conditions are crucial for the actions. Additionally, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images have wide applications in remote sensing and mapping. It utilized area when meteorological conditions are not suitable for acquirement of optical data. In this research, we used a dual-pol (VV and VH) Sentinel-1A and estimated soil moisture of peat in Siak Regency, Riau Province, Indonesia using a modified Dubois Inversion. At the site, soil moisture at the four selected segments (namely, A1, A2, D1 and J1) are also measured in May 2017. Results show that the peatland areas have a ratio of polarimetric features (VH/VV) of 1.5 to 1.6.