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Description

The MOD15A2H Version 6.1 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 the MODIS Version 6.1 LAI/FPAR data product: (1) Version 6.1 Level-1B (L1B) products have been improved by undergoing various calibration changes that include: changes to the response-versus-scan angle (RVS) approach that affects reflectance bands for Aqua and Terra MODIS, corrections to adjust for the optical crosstalk in Terra MODIS infrared (IR) bands, and corrections to the Terra MODIS forward look-up table (LUT) update for the period 2012 – 2017, and (2) A polarization correction has been applied to the L1B Reflective Solar Bands (RSB).

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 Present
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
C2218777082-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
345808
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Leaf Area Index (LAI) ,
Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)

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. (2021). MODIS/Terra Leaf Area Index/FPAR 8-Day L4 Global 500m SIN Grid V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD15A2H.061 Date Accessed: 2026-05-27

File Naming Convention

MOD15A2H.A2025209.h35v09.061.2025218040352.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD15A2H) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025209), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h35v09), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025218040352), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

USER'S GUIDE

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

SCIENCE DATA PRODUCT VALIDATION

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Evaluating MODIS vegetation products using digital images for quantifying local peatland CO<inf>2</inf> gas fluxes Gatis, Naomi, Anderson, Karen, GrandClement, Emilie, Luscombe, David J., Hartley, Iain P., Smith, David, Brazier, Richard E. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Evaluation and aggregation properties of thermal Infra-Red-based evapotranspiration algorithms from 100 m to the km scale over a semi-arid irrigated agricultural area Bahir, Malik, Boulet, Gilles, Olioso, Albert, Rivalland, Vincent, Gallego-Elvira, Belen, Mira, Maria, Rodriguez, Julio-Cesar, Jarlan, Lionel, Merlin, Olivier Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Albedo, Reflectance, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Sea Surface Temperature
Evaluation of spatio-temporal patterns of remotely sensed evapotranspiration to infer information about hydrological behaviour in a data-scarce region Wambura, Frank, Dietrich, Ottfried, Lischeid, Gunnar Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Identification of years with extreme vegetation state in Central Europe based on remote sensing and meteorological data Kern, Aniko, Marjanovic, Hrvoje, Dobor, Laura, Anic, MIslav, Hlasny, Tomas, Barcza, Zoltan 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)
Impact of MODIS sensor calibration updates on Greenland Ice Sheet surface reflectance and albedo trends Casey, Kimberly A., Polashenski, Chris M., Chen, Justin, Tedesco, Marco Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
Simultaneous inversion of multiple land surface parameters from MODIS opticalthermal observations Ma, Han, Liang, Shunlin, Xiao, Zhiqiang, Shi, Hanyu Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy
Validation of PROBA-V GEOV1 and MODIS C5 & C6 fAPAR products in a deciduous beech forest site in Italy Nestola, Enrica, Sanchez-Zapero, Jorge, Latorre, Consuelo, Mazzenga, Francesco, Matteucci, Giorgio, Calfapietra, Carlo, Camacho, Fernando Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Validation of collection of 6 MODIS/Terra and MODIS/Aqua gross primary production in an alpine meadow of the Northern Tibetan Plateau Fu, Gang, Zhang, Jing, Shen, Zhen-Xi, Shi, Pei-Li, He, Yong-Tao, Zhang, Xian-Zhou Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Evaluating biases in simulated land surface albedo from CMIP5 global climate models Li, Yue, Wang, Tao, Zeng, Zhenzhong, Peng, Shushi, Lian, Xu, Piao, Shilong Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Improving LAI spatio-temporal continuity using a combination of MODIS and MERSI data Yin, Gaofei, Li, Jing, Liu, Qinhuo, Zhong, Bo, Li, Ainong Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
The relationship between soil moisture and LAI in different types of soil in central eastern China Liu, Li, Zhang, Renhe, Zuo, Zhiyan Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Rainfall intra-seasonal variability and vegetation growth in the Ferlo Basin (Senegal) Cisse, Soukeye, Eymard, Laurence, Ottle, Catherine, Ndione, Jacques, Gaye, Amadou, Pinsard, Francoise Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
A bayesian network-based method to alleviate the ill-posed inverse problema case study on leaf area index and canopy water content retrieval Quan, Xingwen, He, Binbin, Li, Xing Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
A framework for consistent estimation of leaf area index, fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation, and surface albedo from MODIS time-series data Xiao, Zhiqiang, Liang, Shunlin, Wang, Jindi, Xie, Donghui, Song, Jinling, Fensholt, Rasmus Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy
Ecohydrologic role of solar radiation on landscape evolution Yetemen, Omer, Istanbulluoglu, Erkan, FloresCervantes, J. Homero, Vivoni, Enrique R., Bras, Rafael L. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Model-data assimilation of multiple phenological observations to constrain and predict leaf area index Viskari, Toni, Hardiman, Brady, Desai, Ankur R., Dietze, Michael C. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
An optimal sampling design for observing and validating long-term leaf area index with temporal variations in spatial heterogeneities Zeng, Yelu, Li, Jing, Liu, Qinhuo, Qu, Yonghua, Huete, Alfredo, Xu, Baodong, Yin, Geofei, Zhao, Jing Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
An evapotranspiration product for arid regions based on the three-temperature model and thermal remote sensing Xiong, Yu Jiu, Zhao, Shao Hua, Tian, Fei, Qiu, Guo Yu Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Lidar with multi-temporal MODIS provide a means to upscale predictions of forest biomass Li, Le, Guo, Qinghua, Tao, Shengli, Kelly, Maggi, Xu, Guangcai Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Modeling dry and wet deposition of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium ions in Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, China using a source-oriented CMAQ modelpart I. base case model results Qiao, Xue, Tang, Ya, Hu, Jianlin, Zhang, Shuai, Li, Jingyi, Kota, Sri Harsha, Wu, Li, Gao, Huilin, Zhang, Hongliang, Ying, Qi Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Spectral anisotropy of subtropical deciduous forest using MISR and MODIS data acquired under large seasonal variation in solar zenith angle Breunig, Fabio Marcelo, Galvao, Lenio Soares, dos Santos, Joao Roberto, Gitelson, Anatoly A., de Moura, Yhasmin Mendes, Teles, Thiago Sousa, Gaida, William Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Sustainable management of river oases along the Tarim River (SuMaRiO) in Northwest China under conditions of climate change Rumbaur, C., Thevs, N., Disse, M., Ahlheim, M., Brieden, A., Cyffka, B., Duethmann, D., Feike, T., Fror, O., Gartner, P., Halik, U., Hill, J., Hinnenthal, M., Keilholz, P., Kleinschmit, B., Krysanova, V., Kuba, M., Mader, S., Menz, C., Othmanli, H., Pelz, S., Schroeder, M., Siew, T. F., Stender, V., Stahr, K., Thomas, F. M., Welp, M., Wortmann, M., Zhao, X., Chen, X., Jiang, T., Luo, J., Yimit, H., Yu, R., Zhang, X., Zhao, C. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Spatial and seasonal variations of CO2 flux and photosynthetic and respiratory parameters of larch forests in East Asia Takagi, Kentaro, Hirata, Ryuichi, Ide, Reiko, Ueyama, Masahito, Ichii, Kazuhito, Saigusa, Nobuko, Hirano, Takashi, Asanuma, Jun, Li, Sheng-Gong, Machimura, Takashi, Nakai, Yuichiro, Ohta, Takeshi, Takahashi, Yoshiyuki Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Retrieval of a temporal high-resolution Leaf Area Index (LAI) by combining MODIS LAI and ASTER reflectance data Qu, Yonghua, Han, Wenchao, Ma, Mingguo Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Uncertainty in simulating gross primary production of cropland ecosystem from satellite-based models Yuan, Wenping, Cai, Wenwen, Nguy-Robertson, Anthony L., Fang, Huajun, Suyker, Andrew E., Chen, Yang, Dong, Wenjie, Liu, Shuguang, Zhang, Haicheng Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
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