N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
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
- For complete information about known issues please refer to the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website.
Version Description
Product Summary
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
Gorelick, N., Hancher, M., Dixon, M., Ilyushchenko, S., Thau, D., & Moore, R. (2017). Google Earth Engine: Planetary-scale geospatial analysis for everyone. Remote Sensing of Environment. MODIS Version 6 Leaf Area Index/FPAR 4-day L5 Global 500m Myneni, R., Y. Knyazikhin, T. Park. MOD15A2H MODIS/Terra Leaf Area Index/FPAR 8-Day L4 Global 500m SIN Grid V006. 2015, distributed by NASA EOSDIS Land Processes DAAC, https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD15A2H.006 Landsat 5/7/8 Collection 1 Surface Reflectance
Landsat Level-2 Surface Reflectance Science Product courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Masek, J.G., Vermote, E.F., Saleous N.E., Wolfe, R., Hall, F.G., Huemmrich, K.F., Gao, F., Kutler, J., and Lim, T-K. (2006). A Landsat surface reflectance dataset for North America, 1990–2000. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters 3(1):68-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/LGRS.2005.857030.
Vermote, E., Justice, C., Claverie, M., & Franch, B. (2016). Preliminary analysis of the performance of the Landsat 8/OLI land surface reflectance product. Remote Sensing of Environment. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.04.008. National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD)
Yang, Limin, Jin, Suming, Danielson, Patrick, Homer, Collin G., Gass, L., Bender, S.M., Case, Adam, Costello, C., Dewitz, Jon A., Fry, Joyce A., Funk, M., Granneman, Brian J., Liknes, G.C., Rigge, Matthew B., Xian, George, A new generation of the United States National Land Cover Database—Requirements, research priorities, design, and implementation strategies: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, v. 146, p. 108–123, at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2018.09.006 Resource Software Recommended: Microsoft Excel,url: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/excel
Resource Title: LAI_training_samples_CONUS.
File Name: LAI_train_samples_CONUS_v0.1.1.csv
Resource Description: This CSV file consists of the training samples for estimating Leaf Area Index based on Landsat surface reflectance images (Collection 1 Tire 1). Each sample has a MODIS LAI value and corresponding surface reflectance derived from Landsat pixels within the MODIS pixel. Contact: Yanghui Kang (kangyanghui@gmail.com)
Column description
UID: Unique identifier. Format: LATITUDE_LONGITUDE_SENSOR_PATHROW_DATE
Landsat_ID: Landsat image ID
Date: Landsat image date in "YYYYMMDD"
Latitude: Latitude (WGS84) of the MODIS LAI pixel center
Longitude: Longitude (WGS84) of the MODIS LAI pixel center
MODIS_LAI: MODIS LAI value in "m2/m2"
MODIS_LAI_std: MODIS LAI standard deviation in "m2/m2"
MODIS_LAI_sat: 0 - MODIS Main (RT) method used no saturation; 1 - MODIS Main (RT) method with saturation
NLCD_class: Majority class code from the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD)
NLCD_frequency: Percentage of the area cover by the majority class from NLCD
Biome: Biome type code mapped from NLCD (see below for more information)
Blue: Landsat surface reflectance in the blue band
Green: Landsat surface reflectance in the green band
Red: Landsat surface reflectance in the red band
Nir: Landsat surface reflectance in the near infrared band
Swir1: Landsat surface reflectance in the shortwave infrared 1 band
Swir2: Landsat surface reflectance in the shortwave infrared 2 band
Sun_zenith: Solar zenith angle from the Landsat image metadata. This is a scene-level value.
Sun_azimuth: Solar azimuth angle from the Landsat image metadata. This is a scene-level value.
NDVI: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index computed from Landsat surface reflectance
EVI: Enhanced Vegetation Index computed from Landsat surface reflectance
NDWI: Normalized Difference Water Index computed from Landsat surface reflectance
GCI: Green Chlorophyll Index = Nir/Green - 1
1 - Deciduous Forest
2 - Evergreen Forest
3 - Mixed Forest
4 - Shrubland
5 - Grassland/Pasture
6 - Cropland
7 - Woody Wetland
8 - Herbaceous Wetland
Reference Dataset:
All data was accessed through Google Earth Engine
Gorelick, N., Hancher, M., Dixon, M., Ilyushchenko, S., Thau, D., & Moore, R. (2017). Google Earth Engine: Planetary-scale geospatial analysis for everyone. Remote Sensing of Environment.
MODIS Version 6 Leaf Area Index/FPAR 4-day L5 Global 500m Myneni, R., Y. Knyazikhin, T. Park. MOD15A2H MODIS/Terra Leaf Area Index/FPAR 8-Day L4 Global 500m SIN Grid V006. 2015, distributed by NASA EOSDIS Land Processes DAAC, https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD15A2H.006
Landsat 5/7/8 Collection 1 Surface Reflectance
Landsat Level-2 Surface Reflectance Science Product courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Masek, J.G., Vermote, E.F., Saleous N.E., Wolfe, R., Hall, F.G., Huemmrich, K.F., Gao, F., Kutler, J., and Lim, T-K. (2006). A Landsat surface reflectance dataset for North America, 1990–2000. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters 3(1):68-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/LGRS.2005.857030.
Vermote, E., Justice, C., Claverie, M., & Franch, B. (2016). Preliminary analysis of the performance of the Landsat 8/OLI land surface reflectance product. Remote Sensing of Environment. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.04.008.
National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD)
Yang, Limin, Jin, Suming, Danielson, Patrick, Homer, Collin G., Gass, L., Bender, S.M., Case, Adam, Costello, C., Dewitz, Jon A., Fry, Joyce A., Funk, M., Granneman, Brian J., Liknes, G.C., Rigge, Matthew B., Xian, George, A new generation of the United States National Land Cover Database—Requirements, research priorities, design, and implementation strategies: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, v. 146, p. 108–123, at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2018.09.006
Resource Software Recommended: Microsoft Excel,url: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/excel}, publisher={ICPSR - Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research}, author={US Department of Agriculture and National Agricultural Library}, year={2026}, language={en} }
File Naming Convention
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
USER'S GUIDE
ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)
DATA PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT
Publications Citing This Dataset
| Title | Year Sort ascending | Author | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| A unifying principle for global greenness patterns and trends | Cai, Wenjia, Zhu, Ziqi, Harrison, Sandy P., Ryu, Youngryel, Wang, Han, Zhou, Boya, Prentice, Iain Colin | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover | |
| A global daily seamless 9 km vegetation optical depth (VOD) product from 2010 to 2021 | Hu, Die, Wang, Yuan, Jing, Han, Yue, Linwei, Zhang, Qiang, Fan, Lei, Yuan, Qiangqiang, Shen, Huanfeng, Zhang, Liangpei | Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification | |
| A new roughness parameterization scheme based on vegetation dynamics and | Yuan, Yuan, Ma, Yaoming, Yang, Chenyi, Chen, Jinlei, Xiao, Gang, Xu, Min | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation | |
| A comparison of machine learning algorithms for predicting gross primary | Agarwal, Geetika, Deb Burman, Pramit Kumar, Kulkarni, Vrushali Y, Kosamkar, Pranali K | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity | |
| Beyond simple flash drought detection: An operational index to analyse | Cammalleri, Carmelo, Maffei, Samuele, Ceppi, Alessandro F.G., Bavera, Davide, Fioravanti, Guido, Peretti, Mercedes, Spennemann, Pablo C., Toreti, Andrea | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation | |
| Biomass Prediction Using Machine Learning Techniques In Google Earth Engine: A Case Study Of The Azrou Forest In The Middle Atlas Mountains, Morocco | Laaribya, Said, Alaoui, Assmaa | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar) | |
| Assessing the value of high-resolution rainfall and streamflow data for hydrological modeling: an analysis based on 63 catchments in southeast China | Tudaji, Mahmut, Nan, Yi, Tian, Fuqiang | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) | |
| Climate Impacts on Forest and Grassland Resilience in China: The Role of | Wang, Lifeng, Nian, Da, Yuan, Naiming | Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Characteristics, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity | |
| CEDAR-GPP: spatiotemporally upscaled estimates of gross primary productivity incorporating CO2 fertilization | Kang, Yanghui, Bassiouni, Maoya, Gaber, Max, Lu, Xinchen, Keenan, Trevor F. | Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Vegetation Index, Vegetation Cover, Plant Characteristics, Canopy Characteristics, Albedo | |
| Bridging scales and borders on water availability and use in the | Owusu, Afua, Akpoti, Komlavi, Leh, Mansoor, Perera, Tharindu, Madushanka, Lahiru, Mekonnen, Kirubel, Tinonetsana, Primrose, Tayebi, Noosha, Escalera-Rodriguez, Ana Cecilia, Fofana, Rafatou, Velpuri, Naga Manohar | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity | |
| Changes in wildfire season in Alaska and the consequences for ambient | Gaw, Emily, Jaisawal, Nilkamal, Folorunsho, Akinleye, Lindsey, Shannon, Lu, Tianjun, Liu, Yisi, Wang, Meng, Li, Yang | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar) | |
| Comparative analysis of land-atmosphere interactions across three | Hingerl, Luitpold, Bliefernicht, Jan, Guug, Samuel, Sy, Souleymane, Neidl, Frank, Jagdhuber, Thomas, Kunstmann, Harald | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation | |
| Co-benefit of forestation on ozone air quality and carbon storage in South China | Liu, Zehui, Zhou, Mi, Li, Danyang, Song, Tao, Yue, Xu, Lu, Xiao, Zhao, Yuanhong, Zhang, Lin | Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Use/Land Cover Classification | |
| Differentiating the impacts of natural growth and artificial restoration of vegetation on water use efficiency in the Yellow River basin | Luan, Jinkai, Ma, Ning, Wu, Jiefeng, Zhang, Ran | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation | |
| Crop productivity under heat stress: a structural analysis of light use | Lai, Peiyu, Marshall, Michael, Darvishzadeh, Roshanak, Nelson, Andrew | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation | |
| Effect of Forest Management Practices on Water Balance Across a | Casirati, Stefano, Conklin, Martha H., Nandi, Saswata, Safeeq, Mohammad | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation | |
| Effectiveness of Predicting EventLevel Interception Losses Across Diverse Vegetated Sites Using Statistical Models | Sandquist, Abigail G., Good, Stephen P., Barinas, Gabriel, Allen, Scott T. | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Terrestrial Ecosystems, LIDAR WAVEFORM, Biomass, Canopy Characteristics, Terrain Elevation | |
| Ecohydrological Land Reanalysis: Vegetation Water Content and Soil | Sawada, Yohei, Fujii, Hideyuki, Tsutsui, Hiroyuki, Aida, Kentaro, Shimada, Rigen, Kachi, Misako, Koike, Toshio | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Carbon, Nitrogen, Soil Water Holding Capacity, Soil Bulk Density, Soil Chemistry, Soil Classification, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Horizons/Profile | |
| Ecological impacts of climate change on Peruvian Andean ecosystems | Zarria Samanamud, Melody R, Boone, Randall B, Bowser, Gillian, Havrilla, Caroline A, Klein, Julia A, Young, Kenneth R | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation | |
| Ecological problem identification based on spatial and temporal dynamics | Zhang, Rui, Liu, Huamin, Xu, Zhichao, Zhao, Xinchuan, Wen, Lu, Zhuo, Yi, Wang, Lixin | Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) | |
| Economic valuation of subsurface water contributions to watershed ecosystem services using a fully integrated groundwatersurface-water model | Aziz, Tariq, Frey, Steven K., Lapen, David R., Preston, Susan, Russell, Hazen A. J., Khader, Omar, Erler, Andre R., Sudicky, Edward A. | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation | |
| Effects of land surface changes on climate in the Tibetan Plateau | Jiao, Yue, Jin, Chuan, Zhou, Xu, Dai, Licong, Wu, Kai, Shen, Yao, Hu, Zhongmin | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) | |
| Comparison of Deep Learning Models for LAI Simulation and Interpretable | Yu, Junpo, Si, Yajun, Zhao, Wen, Zhou, Zeyu, Jin, Jiming, Yan, Wenjun, Shao, Xiangyu, Xu, Zhixiang, Gan, Junwei | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification | |
| Hydroclimatic Rebound Drives Extreme Fire in California's Non-Forested | McNorton, Joe, Moreno, Alberto, Turco, Marco, Keune, Jessica, Di Giuseppe, Francesca | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) | |
| Hydrological and hydraulic modelling of flash flood induced by extreme rainfall in Liulin town, Hubei province, China, 2021 | Xu, Zexing, Wang, Xiekang, He, Bingshun | Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation |