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- Title
Inferring Water Table Depth Dynamics from ENVISAT-ASAR C-Band Backscatter over a Range of Peatlands from Deeply-Drained to Natural Conditions.
- Authors
Bechtold, Michel; Schlaffer, Stefan; Tiemeyer, Bärbel; De Lannoy, Gabrielle
- Abstract
Water table depth (WTD) is one of the key variables controlling many processes in peatlands. Reliable WTD estimates based on remote sensing data would advance peatland research from global-scale climate monitoring to field-scale ecosystem management. Here, we evaluate the relationship between ENVISAT Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) C-band backscatter (<italic>σ</italic>°) and in situ observed WTD dynamics over 17 peatlands in Germany covering deeply-drained to natural conditions, excluding peatlands dominated by forest or inundation periods. The results show increasing <italic>σ</italic>° with shallower WTD (=wetter conditions), with average temporal Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.38 and 0.54 (-) for natural (also including disturbed and rewetted/restored states) and agriculturally-used drained peatlands, respectively. The anomaly correlation further highlights the potential of ASAR backscatter to capture interannual variations with values of 0.33 and 0.43 (-), for natural and drained peatlands. The skill metrics, which are similar to those for evaluations of top soil moisture from C-band over mineral soils, indicate a strong capillary connection between WTD and the ‘C-band-sensitive’ top 1–2 cm of peat soils, even during dry periods with WTD at around −1 m. Various backscatter processing algorithms were tested without significant differences. The cross-over angle concept for correcting dynamical vegetation effects was tested, but not superior, to constant incidence angle correction.
- Subjects
PEATLAND management; ECOSYSTEM management; PEARSON correlation (Statistics); COMPUTER algorithms; SOIL moisture
- Publication
Remote Sensing, 2018, Vol 10, Issue 4, p536
- ISSN
2072-4292
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/rs10040536