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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
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
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: 2026-06-03

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
Analyzing ecosystem functions in Bangladesh's forests: a historical MODIS study Tithi, Adrita Choudury, Sohel, Md. Shawkat Islam, Jakariya, Md., Rana, Parvez Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
An analysis of the lagged relationship between anomalies of precipitation and soil moisture and its potential role in agricultural drought early warning Cammalleri, C., McCormick, N., Spinoni, J., Nielsen-Gammon, J. W. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
A novel framework for multiple thermokarst hazards risk assessment and controlling environmental factors analysis on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Lou, Peiqing, Wu, Tonghua, Yin, Guoan, Chen, Jie, Zhu, Xiaofan, Wu, Xiaodong, Li, Ren, Yang, Sizhong Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Topographical Relief Maps, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM)
A novel hybrid modelling framework for GPP estimation: Integrating a multispectral surface reflectance based Vcmax25 simulator into the process-based model Hu, Xiaolong, Shi, Liangsheng, Lin, Lin, Li, Shenji, Deng, Xianzhi, Li, Li, Bian, Jiang, Lian, Xie Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Burn Severity and Post-Fire Weather Are Key to Predicting Rifai, Sami W., De Kauwe, Martin G., Gallagher, Rachael V., Cernusak, Lucas A., Meir, Patrick, Pitman, Andy J. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Boreal Forest Fire Causes Daytime Surface Warming During Summer to Helbig, M., Daw, L., Iwata, H., Rudaitis, L., Ueyama, M., Zivkovic, T. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Carbon restoration potential on global land under water resource constraints Peng, Shouzhang, Terrer, Cesar, Smith, Benjamin, Ciais, Philippe, Han, Qinggong, Nan, Jialan, Fisher, Joshua B., Chen, Liang, Deng, Lei, Yu, Kailiang Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Carbon and Energy Balance in a Primary Amazonian Forest and Its Alves, Mailson P., da Silva, Rommel B. C., Silva, Claudio M. Santos e, Bezerra, Bergson G., Rego Mendes, Keila, Marinho, Larice A., Barbosa, Melahel L., Nunes, Hildo Giuseppe Garcia Caldas, Dos Santos, Jose Guilherme Martins, Neves, Theomar Trindade de Araujo Tiburtino, Santana, Raoni A., Peres, Lucas Vaz, da Silva, Alex Santos, Oliveira, Petia, Moutinho, Victor Hugo Pereira, Machado, Wilderclay B., Reis, Iolanda M. S., Seruffo, Marcos Cesar da Rocha, Gaspar, Avner Brasileiro dos Santos, Pereira, Waldeir, Brito-Costa, Gabriel Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Canopy structure regulates autumn phenology by mediating the microclimate in temperate forests Wu, Xiaoyong, Niu, Chunyue, Liu, Xiaoqiang, Hu, Tianyu, Feng, Yuhao, Zhao, Yingyi, Liu, Shuwen, Liu, Zhonghua, Dai, Guanhua, Zhang, Yao, Van Meerbeek, Koenraad, Wu, Jin, Liu, Lingli, Guo, Qinghua, Su, Yanjun Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Asymmetric effects of diurnal warming on carbon allocation to leaves of marsh wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau Wu, Liyuan, Shen, Xiangjin, Lu, Xianguo, Jiang, Ming Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Assimilation of carbonyl sulfide (COS) fluxes within the adjoint-based data assimilation systemNanjing University Carbon Assimilation System (NUCAS v1. 0) Zhu, Huajie, Wu, Mousong, Jiang, Fei, Vossbeck, Michael, Kaminski, Thomas, Xing, Xiuli, Wang, Jun, Ju, Weimin, Chen, Jing M. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Big Earth Data in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals (2022)The Belt and Road Guo, Huadong Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Characterizing the effects of atmospheric and land surface factors on Han, Yuan, Wen, Jianguang, Xiao, Qing, Wu, Xiaodan, You, Dongqin, Tang, Yong, Gong, Baochang, Zhang, Hailong, Liu, Qinhuo, Zhu, Wenzhe, Chen, Zeqiu Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy
Assessing impacts of alternative land use strategies on water Luo, Shuxin, Tetzlaff, Doerthe, Smith, Aaron, Soulsby, Chris Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Assessment of satellite-derived FAPAR products with different spatial resolutions for gross primary productivity estimation Zhang, Xiyu, Jin, Huaan, Zhao, Wei, Yin, Gaofei, Xie, Xinyao, Fan, Jianrong Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
High resolution (1-km) surface soil moisture generation from SMAP SSM by Fu, Xiaolei, Zhang, Yuchen, Guo, Luofujie, Lu, Haishen, Ding, Yongjian, Meng, Xianhong, Qin, Yu, Wang, Yueyang, Xi, Bin, Xu, Shiqin, Xu, Pengcheng, Zhang, Gengxi, Jiang, Xiaolei Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
High Resolution (30 m) Burned Area Product Improves the Ability for Qi, Baoye, Zhang, Zhaoming, Long, Tengfei, He, Guojin, Wang, Guizhou, Peng, Yan, Xu, Zekun Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Enhancing Winter Wheat Representation in Noah-MP-Crop for Improved Dynamic Crop Growth Simulation in the North China Plain Wang, Fei, Li, Yanping, Li, Zhenhua, Cai, Xitian, Lin, Xiaofeng, Guo, Lifeng, Han, Dongrui, Fang, Jingchun Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Surface Pressure, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Surface Temperature, Humidity, Evapotranspiration, Surface Winds, Rain, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff
Enhancing rice yield prediction: a deep fusion model integrating ResNet50-LSTM with multi source data Aslam, Aqsa, Farhan, Saima Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Forecasting dead fuel moisture content below forest canopies - A Lyell, Christopher Sean, Nattala, Usha, Keeble, Thomas, Vella, Elena M., Joshi, Rakesh Chandra, Joukhadar, Zaher, Garber, Jonathan, Mutch, Simon J, Gazzard, Tim, Duff, Tom, Sheridan, Gary Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Glaciers determine the sensitivity of hydrological processes to perturbed climate in a large mountainous basin on the Tibetan Plateau Nan, Yi, Tian, Fuqiang Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Greening-Induced Biophysical Impacts Lead to Earlier Spring and Autumn Guo, Jing, Wang, Jinmei, Qiao, Yuxin, Huang, Xu, Smith, Nicholas G., Liu, Zhiyong, Zhang, Rui, Chen, Xiuzhi, Wu, Chaoyang, Penuelas, Josep, Chen, Lei Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Characteristics, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
GPP Estimation of a Grassland Ecosystem Based on Photosynthesis-Hydrology Coordination Optimization Fu, Lijiang, Tan, Jinglu, Jiang, Yongnian, Allakhverdiev, Suleyman I., Xu, Zhenyu, Guo, Ya Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Evaluation of optical and microwave-derived vegetation indices for Chang, Zhongbing, Fan, Lei, Wigneron, Jean-Pierre, Wang, Ying-Ping, Li, Xiaojun, Wang, Mengjia, Liu, Xiangzhuo, Wang, Huan, Cui, Tianxiang, Yu, Ling, Wu, Jianping, Xiong, Xin, Zhang, Shuo, Tang, Xuli, Yan, Junhua Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Characteristics, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Evaluation of the coupling of EMACv2.55 to the land surface and Martin, Anna, Gayler, Veronika, Steil, Benedikt, Klingmuller, Klaus, Jockel, Patrick, Tost, Holger, Lelieveld, Jos, Pozzer, Andrea Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Albedo, Anisotropy, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
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