Using ERS-1 and ASAR Imagery for Mapping Forest in French Guiana

ERS 1 and ASAR imagery were used for mapping the forest area of French Guiana for 1992/1993 and 2003/2004, re- spectively. Imagery was orthorectified using the SRTM DEM and least square algorithm was used to improve the residual geomet- ric inaccuracies. Geometric accuracy of the ERS data using the standard VMP processor was compared with the accuracy using the PGS processor that has been developed for the Envisat ASAR data. The change detection ability clearly improved due to the use of PGS processor. The study was part of the GMES (Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security) Service Element Forest Monitoring.