Analysis of RVI for rice crops in small-scale agricultural fields using Sentinel-1 SAR data: case study on LAI retrieval using regression algorithms

Abstract

Leaf Area Index (LAI) is a crucial indicator for assessing plant growth, canopy structure, photosynthetic capacity, and overall productivity. The Radar Vegetation Index (RVI), a well-established microwave metric, serves as an effective tool for retrieving the LAI due to its sensitivity to vegetation characteristics. The primary objective of utilizing RVI in LAI studies is to improve the accuracy and reliability of LAI estimation, where optical methods may be hindered by atmospheric conditions. Over the past decade, numerous studies have explored the relationship between RVI and LAI, highlighting the potential of RVI for accurate LAI estimation in crops. In particular, for rice crop analysis in this study, the RVI is derived by incorporating the Degree of Polarization (DOP) from a 2 × 2 covariance matrix as the coefficient, along with the polarization backscatter of Sentinel-1 C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. The study also explores RVI derivation from M-chi (m-?) and M-delta (m-?) decomposition (assuming circularity in dual-polarized data) and linear backscattering intensities. Using the RVI’s, machine learning regression models are applied to retrieve LAI. The DOP over crop period, the temporal analysis of RVI, and in-situ LAI has been employed to examine trends during crop growth. Notably, among all derived RVIs, the one obtained using the DOP technique, particularly when combined with random forest regression, consistently exhibits superior performance for rice crop LAI estimation (R = 0.91; RMSE = 0.25 m2/m2), whereas, the R value for other models ranges a lower value of 0.63 to a higher value of 0.83 with RMSE of higher value 0.64 m2/m2 to a lower value of 0.32 m2/m2. The findings in the study highlights the sensitivity of SAR data to the DOP and the vegetation structure of rice crops in small-scale agricultural fields. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the International Society of Paddy and Water Environment Engineering 2024.