An assessment of the MODIS collection 5 leaf area index product for a region of mixed coniferous forest

De Kauwe, M.G.; Disney, M.I.; Quaife, T.; Lewis, P.; Williams, M.. 2011 An assessment of the MODIS collection 5 leaf area index product for a region of mixed coniferous forest. Remote Sensing of Environment, 115 (2). 767-780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2010.11.004

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Abstract/Summary

Canopy leaf area index (LAI), defined as the single-sided leaf area per unit ground area, is a quantitative measure of canopy foliar area. LAI is a controlling biophysical property of vegetation function, and quantifying LAI is thus vital for understanding energy, carbon and water fluxes between the land surface and the atmosphere. LAI is routinely available from Earth Observation (EO) instruments such as MODIS. However EO-derived estimates of LAI require validation before they are utilised by the ecosystem modelling community. Previous validation work on the MODIS collection 4 (c4) product suggested considerable error especially in forested biomes, and as a result significant modification of the MODIS LAI algorithm has been made for the most recent collection 5 (c5). As a result of these changes the current MODIS LAI product has not been widely validated. We present a validation of the MODIS c5 LAI product over a 121 km(2) area of mixed coniferous forest in Oregon, USA, based on detailed ground measurements which we have upscaled using high resolution EO data. Our analysis suggests that c5 shows a much more realistic temporal LAI dynamic over c4 values for the site we examined. We find improved spatial consistency between the MODIS c5 LAI product and upscaled in situ measurements. However results also suggest that the c5 LAI product underestimates the upper range of upscaled in situ LAI measurements. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2010.11.004
Programmes:	CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Reynard
ISSN:	0034-4257
Additional Keywords:	leaf area index, MODIS, conifer, validation
NORA Subject Terms:	Botany Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	22 Feb 2012 15:51 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/16730

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2010.11.004

Programmes:

CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Reynard

ISSN:

0034-4257

Additional Keywords:

leaf area index, MODIS, conifer, validation