Research on Inversion of Soil Moisture in Karst Area Based on Full-Polarization SAR Data

In order to select a reasonable controlling mode of rocky desertification and restrain the development of rocky desertification with local conditions, the soil moisture in Karst area was studied by using full-polarization Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data in this paper. Based on the decisive role of rocky desertification degree, vegetation, slope and characteristic of the soil, different models were employed to invert the soil moisture in different rocky desertification degree areas according to their land use type and vegetation as follows: (1) The advanced integral equation model (AIEM) was employed in the intensive rocky desertification and serious rocky desertification areas. (2) The water-cloud model (WCM) coupled with AIEM was employed in the slight rocky desertification and moderate rocky desertification areas. (3) The Michigan microwave canopy scattering (MIMICS) model coupled with AIEM was employed in the non-rocky desertification and potential rocky desertification areas. As a result, the soil moisture was inverted successfully in the whole study area with the total inversion accuracy of 84.37% and RMSE of 2.10. This result demonstrates that the proposed method can invert the soil moisture accurately and provide a powerful technical support for inverting the soil moisture in the Karst area with large span, fluctuating landform and diverse vegetation.

Automated summary

This study used SAR data to study soil moisture in Karst area and successfully inverted soil moisture using different models based on factors such as rocky desertification degree and vegetation. The proposed method accurately inverts soil moisture and provides powerful technical support for the Karst area.