Fading analysis of vegetation density effects on path loss for 1.8 GHZ cellular mobile with low base station antenna height

This paper presents studies of propagation characteristics in a suburban forest based on a measurement campaign at a frequency of 1.8 GHz. We investigated how tree density affected the fast fading characteristic depending on tree density and base station antenna height in a range of 3, 4, and 5 m above ground while the receiving antenna height was fixed at 1.8 m above ground. Three categories were studied: high density area, low density areas and grass area. Measurement of the receiver signal over 120 s intervals for a stationary mobile were used to obtain the distribution functions for the fading. We found that the distributions followed a Rician distribution, whose K-factor depended on tree density and transmitter height.