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Description

The MOD15A2H Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MOD15A2H Version 6.1 data product.

The MOD15A2H Version 6 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) combined Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) product is an 8-day composite dataset with 500 meter (m) pixel size. The algorithm chooses the “best” pixel available from all the acquisitions of the Terra sensor from within the 8-day period.

LAI is defined as the one-sided green leaf area per unit ground area in broadleaf canopies and as one-half the total needle surface area per unit ground area in coniferous canopies. FPAR is defined as the fraction of incident photosynthetically active radiation, 400-700 nanometers (nm), absorbed by the green elements of a vegetation canopy.

Science Datasets (SDSs) in the Level 4 (L4) MOD15A2H product include LAI, FPAR, two quality layers, and standard deviation for LAI and FPAR. Two low resolution browse images, LAI and FPAR, are also available for each MOD15A2H granule.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6 LAI and FPAR data products: (1) The Version 6 product uses the daily L2G-lite surface reflectance as input as opposed to MODAGAGG used in Version 5, (2) Products are generated at native resolution of 500 m rather than the 1000 m of the Version 5, and (3) Version 6 uses an improved multi-year land cover product.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra
Instruments
MODIS
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
500 Meters x 500 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
MODIS Sinusoidal Tiling System
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-02-18 to 2023-02-17
Temporal Resolution
8 Day
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
MODIS Adaptive Processing System, Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/MODAPS)
Concept ID
C2763298089-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar) ,
Leaf Area Index (LAI)

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Myneni, R., Knyazikhin, Y., & Park, T. (2015). MOD15A2H MODIS/Terra Leaf Area Index/FPAR 8-Day L4 Global 500m SIN Grid V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD15A2H.006 Date Accessed: 2026-02-17

File Naming Convention

MOD15A2H.A2002273.h20v06.006.2015151112325.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD15A2H) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002273), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h20v06), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2015151112325), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author
Response of vegetation ecosystems to flash drought with solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence over the Hai River Basin, China during 2001-2019 Yao, T.
Grazing influences biomass production and protein content of alpine meadows Jarque-Bascuñana, L.
Effects of environmental factors on the changes in MODIS NPP along DEM in global terrestrial ecosystems over the last two decades Wang, Z.
Hurricanes substantially reduce the nutrients in tropical forested watersheds in Puerto Rico Sun, J. M.
Long-term observed evapotranspiration and its variation caused by anthropogenic controls in an ecofragile region Xie, Z.
A new global land productivity dynamic product based on the consistency of various vegetation biophysical indicators Cui, Y.
Development of an open-source regional data assimilation system in PEcAn v. 1.7.2—Application to carbon cycle reanalysis across the contiguous US using SIPNET Dokoohaki, H.
Secondary organic aerosol formation and source contributions over east China in summertime Li, J.
Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence trends and mechanisms in different ecosystems in northeastern China Guo, M.
Effects of increased drought in Amazon forests under climate change—Separating the roles of canopy responses and soil moisture Wey, H. W.
SHOWING 10 OF 149

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
FparExtra_QC Extra detail Quality for LAI and FPAR Class Flag uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A
FparLai_QC Quality for LAI and FPAR Class Flag uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A
FparStdDev_500m Standard deviation of FPAR Percent uint8 248 0 to 100 0.01
Fpar_500m Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation Percent uint8 249 0 to 100 0.01
LaiStdDev_500m Standard deviation of LAI m²/m² uint8 248 0 to 100 0.1
Lai_500m Leaf Area Index m²/m² uint8 249 0 to 100 0.1
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