Rice monitoring and production estimation has special significance to China

as rice is the staple grain and accounts for 42% of the crop production for this country. Radar remote sensing is appropriate for monitoring rice as cultivated areas are most often cloudy and rainy. SAR is anticipated to be the dominant remote sensing data source with high resolution in tropic and sub

t

ropical regions. It also provides re

v

isit schedules suitable for agricultural monitoring. This paper presents the results of a study examining the backscatter behavior of rice as a function of time using multi

t

emporal RADARSAT data set acquired in 1996 and 1997. A rice

t

ype distribution map was produced

showing 4 types of rice with different life spans ranging from 80 days

to 120

1

25 days. The life span of a rice crop has significant impact on yield

as well as the taste and quality of the rice. The rice production of three counties and two administrative regions

totaling 5000 square kilometers

are estimated in this study. The accuracy was found to be 91%

providing confidence that multi

t

emporal RADARSAT data is capable of rice monitoring and production estimation. Based on the studies carried out in the Zhaoqing test site since 1993

it is suggested that rice production estimations require three radar data acquisitions taken at 3 stages of crop growth season. That is at the end of the seedling development period

in the ear differentiation period

and at the beginning of the harvest period. Alternatively

if multi

p

arameter radar data is available

data acquisitions may reduce to only two. That is at the end of the seedling period

and at the beginning of the harvest period. This paper also proposes a pilot scenario for operational rice monitoring and production estimation.