Process / pipelineCanopy Biometry
Leaf Area Index
Leaf Area Index (LAI) is a dimensionless quantity that measures the total one-sided area of leaves per unit ground area covered by a canopy. It quantifies canopy density and structure: LAI = 0 for bare soil, LAI = 1 for a thin crop, LAI = 3-6 for dense cereal or grass canopies, and LAI > 8 for dense forest. LAI is a key variable in crop growth models, evapotranspiration estimation, and remote sensing because it directly controls light interception, photosynthesis, and water loss from vegetation.
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Sources
- Watson, D. J. (1947). Comparative physiological studies on the growth of field crops: I. Variation in net assimilation rate and leaf area between species and varieties, and within and between years. Annals of Botany, 11(43), 375-407. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aob.a083180 ↗
- Chen, J. M., & Black, T. A. (1992). Defining leaf area index for non-flat leaves. Plant, Cell & Environment, 15(4), 421-429. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3040.1992.tb00992.x ↗
- Weiss, M., Baret, F., Smith, G. J., Jonckheere, I., & Coppin, P. (2004). Review of methods for in situ leaf area index (LAI) determination: Part II. LiDAR and spectral approaches. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 121(1-2), 37-53. DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2003.12.001 ↗