Coastal Vegetation Mapping
Vegetation can be discriminated on the basis of structural parameters and canopy roughness resulting in changes in radar texture and tone. Generally, vegetated areas have a brighter return than non-vegetated areas or standing water. Multi-temporal data acquired using different incidence angles can improve the discrimination between vegetated and non-vegetated areas.

RADARSAT beam mode - RADARSAT's Wide and ScanSAR beam modes can be used for regional mapping of vegetated and non-vegetated areas, while RADARSAT's Fine and Standard beam modes are more suited to local, detailed studies.

RADARSAT incidence angle - Larger incidence angles maximize the contrast in backscatter between vegetated and non-vegetated areas.

Look direction - Choose a look direction that will image the area of interest in the near half of the swath so as to avoid image quality problems.

When to acquire RADARSAT data - Discrimination of vegetated and non-vegetated areas is best under conditions of maximum moisture contrast and low tide conditions. Seasonal changes should also be considered when ordering data.