What is LAI?
LAI is defined as the total one-sided (or one half of the
total all-sided) green leaf area per unit ground surface area.
It is an important biological parameter because:
- it defines the area that interacts with solar radiation
and provides the remote sensing signal,
- it is the surface that is responsible for carbon absorption
and exchange with the atmosphere.
Have Canada-wide
LAI maps been produced from satellite data?
Yes. Canada wide LAI maps are now produced using cloud-free
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images every
10 days at 1 km resolution.
Do we validate
the LAI maps over Canada?
Yes. To validate the map of peak LAI map across Canada, a
group of interested Canadian scientists was formed, and measurements
of LAI were made in the summer of 1998. Various canopy types
were measured including deciduous, conifer and mixed forests
and cropland. Common measurement standards using the commercial
TRAC and LAI-2000 instruments were followed. Nine Landsat
TM scenes at 30m resolution are used to locate ground sites
and to scale the measurements up to 1km pixels.
Who is on the validation team?
- Dr. Jing Chen, Dr.Josef Cihlar and Leonard Brown, CCRS,
Ontario (coniferous and deciduous forests)
- Dr. Joost Vandersanden, CCRS, Ontario (crops)
- Dr. Andy Black and Dr. Michael Novak, UBC, British Columbia
(coniferous forest and crops)
- Dr. Robert Fleming, CFS, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (forests
and forest plantations)
- Dr. Gilles Robitaille, CFS, Saint-Foy, Quebec (deciduous
and coniferous forests)
- Dr. Ron Hall, CFS, Edmonton, Alberta (deciduous and coniferous
forests)
- Dr. Anne Smith, Agriculture Canada, Alberta (crops and
grassland)
- Dr. Michael Lavigne and Dr.Bruce Pendrel, CFS, New Brunswick
(coniferous and deciduous forests, grassland)
- Dr. Edwin Swift and Dr. Joan Luther, CFS, New Brunswick
(coniferous and deciduous forests, grassland)
- Dr. Harry McCaughey and Laura Liblik, Queen's University,
Ontario (coniferous and deciduous forests)
- Dr. Tony Trofymow and Dr. Gordon Frazer, CFS, British
Columbia. (coniferous forests)
Where will LAI be validated?
Squares indicate locations where LAI will be validated.
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