SENTINEL-2 satellite-derived Leaf Area Index (LAI) tiles, produced by FEDEO and hosted on NASA EarthData. LAI measures half the developed area of the convex hull wrapping green canopy elements per unit ground, including contributions from understory layers. The dataset was last updated on December 31, 2021.
Use Cases
- Modeling forest canopy biomass based on total green LAI estimates.
- Monitoring vegetation health and growth in heterogeneous landscapes using scale-dependent reflectance relationships.
- Comparing LAI consistency for low LAI values and non-forest surfaces versus forested areas.
- Analyzing the contribution of understory vegetation to total canopy LAI in forest ecosystems.
Strengths
- Derived from SENTINEL-2 satellite observations, a major Earth observation program.
- LAI definition accounts for non-flat canopy elements like needles or stems.
- Product includes the contribution of green elements from the understory, important for forests.
Limitations
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
- Last updated 2021-12-31 23:59:00; freshness should be verified.
- For forests, particularly needle leaf types, significant departures from true LAI are expected.
Provenance
- Source
- FEDEO via NASA EarthData (nasa_earthdata)
- Collection Method
- Derived from remote sensing observations (SENTINEL-2 satellite imagery).