Crop Phenology Classification Using a Representation Learning Network from Sentinel-1 SAR Data

Abstract

This work deals with the classification of wheat phenology by regressing the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) backscatter coefficients (VV, VH) to vegetation water content (VWC) and plant area index (PAI) through a representation learning network. The representation network architecture consists of a pair (VV, VH) of two regression layers (VWC, PAI) which finally converge to a classification (crop phenology) layer. The study was conducted with the Sentinel-1 C-band SAR data acquired during the SMAPVEX16 campaign in Manitoba, Canada. Using this framework, the wheat phenology was classified to an accuracy of 86.67%. However, in comparison, the classification accuracy reduced by ~ 20% while using only the backscatter coefficients of (VV, VH) polarization channels. The results obtained from this study justifies the potential of using a representation learning scheme for crop phenology classification with SAR data.