ALOS-2 and Sentinel-1 use for retrieving soil moisture over cereal fields in semi-arid area: the Kairouan plain – central Tunisia

A study on the Kairouan plain, Tunisia, reveals that L-band data from ALOS-2 and C-band data from Sentinel-1 satellites are significantly influenced by soil roughness when retrieving soil moisture over cereal fields in semi-arid regions. The research highlights the sensitivity of L-band data to soil moisture, particularly in areas with dense vegetation cover (NDVI > 0.6). Two versions of the Water Cloud Model (WCM) were employed to simulate radar signals, one integrating soil-vegetation interaction and the other excluding it. Findings indicate that incorporating the soil-vegetation interaction component substantially improves soil moisture estimation using L-HV data, whereas its impact on C-band data inversion accuracy is negligible. This study underscores the potential of multi-incidence satellite data for precise soil moisture retrieval in semi-arid agricultural landscapes.

Ayari, E., Kassouk, Z., Lili Chabaane, Z., Baghdadi, N., Bousbih, S., & Zribi, M. (2021). ALOS-2 and Sentinel-1 use for retrieving soil moisture over cereal fields in semi-arid area: the Kairouan plain – central Tunisia. Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology XXIII, 43. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2599730