Leaf Area Index (LAI) - 2012-03-05

Full description

The LAI variable defines the number of equivalent layers of leaves relative to a unit of ground area, whereas FPAR measures the proportion of available radiation in the photosynthetically active wavelengths that are absorbed by a canopy. Both variables are used as satellite-derived parameters for calculating surface photosynthesis, evapotranspiration, and net primary production, which in turn are used to calculate terrestrial energy, carbon, water cycle processes, and biogeochemistry of vegetation. (Text from https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/products/modis_products_table/mod15a2). Data are derived from the MODIS Land Products that are distributed by the LPDAAC as tiles from a global sinusoidal projection. Tiles for selected products for Australia have been downloaded and then mosaiced and remapped using the Modis Reprojection Tool (MRT). The products have been split into individual bands to reduce file size and have been reformatted to ensure consistency in SDS and attribute nomenclature.