Study of Propagation Loss Prediction in Forest Environment

A comprehensive review of radio wave attenuation in forest environments is presented in this paper. The classic analytical methods of propagation loss modeling and prediction are described first. This provides information on the physical processes that the radio waves undergo while propagating through a forest. The focus of this paper is on the review and summary of the experimental work done in this area and the development of empirical propagation loss prediction models. The propagation loss variation due to external factors such as antenna height-gain, depolarization, humidity effect etc. are examined and discussed individually. In view of current research work done in this area, some possible future work is proposed to improve the performance of radio links in forest environment.