Leaf Area Index 1999-2020 (raster 1 km), global, 10-daily - version 2

Defined as half the total area of green elements of the canopy per unit horizontal ground area. Every 10-days estimates are available at global scale in the spatial resolution of about 1 km covering the period from 1999 to June 2020 from SPOT/VEGETATION and PROBA-V data.
LAI was defined by CEOS as half the developed area of the convex hull wrapping the green canopy elements per unit horizontal ground. This definition allows accounting for elements which are not flat such as needles or stems. LAI is strongly non linearly related to reflectance. Therefore, its estimation from remote sensing observations will be scale dependent over heterogeneous landscapes. When observing a canopy made of different layers of vegetation, it is therefore mandatory to consider all the green layers. This is particularly important for forest canopies where the understory may represent a very significant contribution to the total canopy LAI. The derived LAI corresponds therefore to the total green LAI, including the contribution of the green elements of the understory. The resulting GEOV1 LAI products are relatively consistent with the actual LAI for low LAI values and ‘non-forest’ surfaces; while for forests, particularly for needle leaf types, significant departures with the true LAI are expected.
LAI products estimates are available every 10-days at global scale in the spatial resolution of about 1 km covering the period from 1999 to June 2020 from SPOT/VEGETATION and PROBA-V data.