Skip to main content

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
Projects
TERRA
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
347548
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 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD15A2H.061 Date Accessed: 2026-07-18

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
Quality Assessment of PROBA-V LAI, fAPAR and fCOVER Collection 300 m Fuster, Beatriz, Sanchez-Zapero, Jorge, Camacho, Fernando, Garcia-Santos, Vicente, Verger, Aleixandre, Lacaze, Roselyne, Weiss, Marie, Baret, Frederic, Smets, Bruno Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Quality assessment of PROBA-V surface Albedo V1 for the continuity of the copernicus climate change service Sanchez-Zapero, Jorge, Camacho, Fernando, Martinez-Sanchez, Enrique, Lacaze, Roselyne, Carrer, Dominique, Pinault, Florian, Benhadj, Iskander, Munoz-Sabater, Joaquin Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy
Nearly Half of Global Vegetated Area Experienced Inconsistent Vegetation Ding, Zihan, Peng, Jian, Qiu, Sijing, Zhao, Yan Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
The global dataset of historical yields for major crops 19812016 Iizumi, Toshichika, Sakai, Toru Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
The Greening and Wetting of the Sahel Have Leveled off since about 1999 Chen, Tiexi, Zhou, Shengjie, Liang, Chuanzhuang, Hagan, Daniel Fiifi Tawia, Zeng, Ning, Wang, Jun, Shi, Tingting, Chen, Xin, Dolman, A.J. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Simulating the impact of urban surface evapotranspiration on the urban heat Island effect using the modified RS-PM modelA case study of Xuzhou, China Wang, Yuchen, Zhang, Yu, Ding, Nan, Qin, Kai, Yang, Xiaoyan Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Temporal validation of four LAI products over grasslands in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau Yin, Gaofei, Li, Ainong, Zhang, Zhengjian, Lei, Guangbin Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Terrestrial land-cover type richness is positively linked to landscape-level functioning Oehri, Jacqueline, Schmid, Bernhard, Schaepman-Strub, Gabriela, Niklaus, Pascal A. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy
Sensitivity and uncertainty quantification for the ECOSTRESS Cawse-Nicholson, Kerry, Braverman, Amy, Kang, Emily L., Li, Miaoqi, Johnson, Margaret, Halverson, Gregory, Anderson, Martha, Hain, Christopher, Gunson, Michael, Hook, Simon Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Geolocation
Sexual modulation in a polyploid grass: A reproductive contest between environmentally inducible sexual and genetically dominant apomictic pathways Karunarathne, Piyal, Reutemann, Anna V., Schedler, Mara, Glucksberg, Adriana, Martinez, Eric J., Honfi, Ana I., Hojsgaard, Diego H. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Spatio-temporal evolution, future trend and phenology regularity of net primary productivity of forests in Northeast China Wang, Chunli, Jiang, Qunou, Deng, Xiangzheng, Lv, Kexin, Zhang, Zhonghui Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Reflectance
Spatiotemporal patterns of evapotranspiration, gross primary productivity, and water use efficiency of cropland in agroecosystems and their relation to the water-saving project in the Shiyang River Basin of Northwestern China Tian, Fei, Zhang, Yu Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Spatio-temporal variability of gross primary productivity in moist and dry deciduous plant functional types of Northwest Himalayan foothills of India using temperature-greenness model Srinet, Ritika, Nandy, Subrata, Watham, Taibanganba, Padalia, Hitendra, Patel, N. R., Chauhan, Prakash 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)
Spatio-Temporal Variation in AOD and Correlation Analysis with PAR and Li, Xin, Liang, Hongyu, Cheng, Weiming Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Water use efficiency and its drivers in four typical agroecosystems based on flux tower measurements Jiang, Shouzheng, Liang, Chuan, Cui, Ningbo, Zhao, Lu, Liu, Chunwei, Feng, Yu, Hu, Xiaotao, Gong, Daozhi, Zou, Qingyao Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Variations in Canopy Cover and Its Relationship with Canopy Water and Temperature in the Miombo Woodland Based on Satellite Data Zimba, Henry, Coenders-Gerrits, Miriam, Kawawa, Banda, Savenije, Hubert, Nyambe, Imasiku, Winsemius, Hessel Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Discrepancies in the simulated global terrestrial latent heat flux from GLASS and MERRA-2 surface net radiation products Guo, Xiaozheng, Yao, Yunjun, Zhang, Yuhu, Lin, Yi, Jiang, Bo, Jia, Kun, Zhang, Xiaotong, Xie, Xianhong, Zhang, Lilin, Shang, Ke, Yang, Junming, Bei, Xiangyi Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Development of a topographic-corrected temperature and greenness model (TG) for improving GPP estimation over mountainous areas Xie, Xinyao, Li, Ainong Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Topographical Relief Maps, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM)
Ecological setup, ploidy diversity, and reproductive biology of Paspalum modestum, a promising wetland forage grass from South America Karunarathne, Piyal, Feduzka, Cristian, Diego, Hojsgaard Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Effects of irrigation on water, carbon, and nitrogen budgets in a semiarid watershed in the Pacific NorthwestA modeling study Zhu, Bowen, Huang, Maoyi, Cheng, Yanyan, Xie, Xianhong, Liu, Ying, Zhang, Xuesong, Bisht, Gautam, Chen, Xingyuan, Missik, Justine, Liu, Heping Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Detecting regional GPP variations with statistically downscaled solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) based on GOME-2 and MODIS data Hu, Shi, Mo, Xingguo Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
A theory of plant function helps to explain leaf-trait and productivity Peng, Yunke, Bloomfield, Keith J., Prentice, Iain Colin Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
A simulation-based analysis of topographic effects on LAI inversion over sloped terrain Yu, Wentao, Li, Jing, Liu, Qinhuo, Yin, Gaofei, Zeng, Yelu, Lin, Shangrong, Zhao, Jing Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
A scaling-based method for the rapid retrieval of FPAR from fine-resolution satellite data in the remote-sensing trend-surface framework Wang, Yiting, Yan, Guangjian, Hu, Ronghai, Xie, Donghui, Chen, Wei Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
A framework for harmonizing multiple satellite instruments to generate a long-term global high spatial-resolution solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) Wen, J., Kohler, P., Duveiller, G., Parazoo, N.C., Magney, T.S., Hooker, G., Yu, L., Chang, C.Y., Sun, Y. Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Heat Flux, Liquid Precipitation, Snow/Ice
You're viewing 550 of 686