A radar index — 0 compatible sensors — Last revised June 1, 2025
RFDI

Radar Forest Degradation Index

Radar Forest Degradation Index for radar applications

When to use

  • Cloud-free vegetation monitoring in tropical regions
  • Day/night observation for time-critical applications
  • Forest biomass estimation in dense canopies
  • Soil moisture retrieval at field-scale
  • Crop type discrimination using polarimetric features
  • Radar

Limitations

  • Speckle noise from coherent imaging requires multi-look or filter processing
  • Topographic effects (foreshortening, layover, shadow) distort backscatter
  • Soil moisture significantly affects backscatter independent of vegetation
  • Calibration drift between acquisitions complicates time-series analysis
  • Polarisation channels may not be available for all sensors

General Formula

Sensor-Specific Formulas

Most-used sensors — click to show code below

SensorProviderFormulaBand Mapping

Code Examples

rfdi_generic.py

RFDI vs other radar indices

IndexNameHow it differs
QpRVIQuad-Polarized Radar Vegetation IndexAlternative radar index — different band combination
VDDPIVertical Dual De-Polarization IndexAlternative radar index — different band combination
VHVVDVH-VV DifferenceAlternative radar index — different band combination
VHVVPVH-VV ProductAlternative radar index — different band combination

Related Radar Indices

QpRVI
Quad-Polarized Radar Vegetation Index
VDDPI
Vertical Dual De-Polarization Index
VHVVD
VH-VV Difference
VHVVP
VH-VV Product
VHVVR
VH-VV Ratio
VVVHD
VV-VH Difference
VVVHR
VV-VH Ratio
VVVHS
VV-VH Sum

References

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-179-2012

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