Progress in forest mapping using airborne radar in tropical regions

This paper describes recent programmes completed in tropical forest areas using high-resolution airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. Airborne high-resolution imaging radars have been demonstrated to be a critical source of forest information for management, planning and monitoring applications. Programmes carried out since 1985 in tropical areas have shown that SAR data can play a prominent role in mapping and monitoring tropical forest land use activities. Forest managers benefit from using SAR data in planning sustainable forest management. Non-forest land use (agriculture clearings, plantations, local infrastructure, clearings by fire) and forestry-related activities (road networks, clearings, log yards, selectively logged areas) can be monitored. Several programmes carried out from 1990 to 1993 in Indonesia, Equatorial Guinea and Congo are described, as are previous programmes in Colombia, Congo, Australia, Costa Rica and Malaysia. The development of forest land information systems, ranging from simple analog map creation and updating procedures to more complex remote sensing and geographic information systems, is described. -from Authors