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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: 2026-05-28

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
Regional equivalent water thickness modeling from remote sensing across a tree cover/LAI gradient in Mediterranean forests of Northern Tunisia Chakroun, Hedia, Mouillot, Florent, Hamdi, Abdelaziz Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Relationships between MODIS phenological metrics, topographic shade, and anomalous temperature patterns in seasonal deciduous forests of south Brazil Teles, Thiago Sousa, Galvao, Lenio Soares, Breunig, Fabio Marcelo, Balbinot, Rafaelo, Gaida, William Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Data-based mechanistic modelling and validation for leaf area index estimation using multi-angular remote-sensing observation time series Guo, LiBiao, Wang, JinDi, Xiao, ZhiQiang, Zhou, HongMin, Song, JinLing Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance
Estimation of crop gross primary production (GPP)fAPAR(chl) versus MOD15A2 FPAR Zhang, Qingyuan, Cheng, Yen-Ben, Lyapustin, Alexei I., Wang, Yujie, Gao, Feng, Suyker, Andrew, Verma, Shashi, Middleton, Elizabeth M. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Impacts of light use efficiency and fPAR parameterization on gross primary production modeling Cheng, Yen-Ben, Zhang, Qingyuan, Lyapustin, Alexei I., Wang, Yujie, Middleton, Elizabeth M. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Analysis of changes in physical parameters of surface derived from biomass burning in Rondonia state Cardozo, Francielle Da Silva, Pereira, Gabriel, Shimabukuro, Yosio Edemir, Moraes, Elisabete Caria Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Comparison of gross primary productivity derived from GIMMS NDVI3g, GIMMS, and MODIS in Southeast Asia Wang, Junbang, Dong, Jingwei, Liu, Jiyuan, Huang, Mei, Li, Guicai, Running, Steven, Smith, W., Harris, Warwick, Saigusa, Nobuko, Kondo, Hiroaki, Liu, Yunfen, Hirano, Takashi, Xiao, Xiangming Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
The Generalized Difference Vegetation Index (GDVI) for dryland characterization Wu, Weicheng Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
SPOT-VEGETATION GEOV1 biophysical parameters in semi-arid agro-ecosystems Raymaekers, D., Garcia, A., Di Bella, C., Beget, M.E., Llavallol, C., Oricchio, P., Straschnoy, J., Weiss, M., Baret, F. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Retrieval of leaf area index from MODIS surface reflectance by model inversion using different minimization criteria Leonenko, G., Los, S.O., North, P.R.J. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance
Using radiometric surface temperature for surface energy flux estimation in Mediterranean drylands from a two-source perspective Morillas, L., Garcia, M., Nieto, H., Villagarcia, L., Sandholt, I., Gonzalez-Dugo, M.P., Zarco-Tejada, P.J., Domingo, F. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Phenology and gross primary production of two dominant savanna woodland ecosystems in Southern Africa Jin, Cui, Xiao, Xiangming, Merbold, Lutz, Arneth, Almut, Veenendaal, Elmar, Kutsch, Werner L. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Application of airborne passive microwave observations for monitoring inland flooding caused by tropical cyclones Buckley, Courtney D., Hood, Robbie E., LaFontaine, Frank J. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Topographical Relief Maps, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM)
Global products of vegetation leaf area and fraction absorbed PAR from year one of MODIS data Myneni, R.B, Hoffman, S, Knyazikhin, Y, Privette, J.L, Glassy, J, Tian, Y, Wang, Y, Song, X, Zhang, Y, Smith, G.R, Lotsch, A, Friedl, M, Morisette, J.T, Votava, P, Nemani, R.R, Running, S.W Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
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