Leaf area index of boreal forests: Theory, techniques, and measurements

Leaf area index (LAI) is a key structural characteristic of forest ecosystems because of the role of green leaves in controlling many biological and physical processes in plant canopies. Accurate LAI estimates are required in studies of ecophysiology, atmosphere‐ecosystem interactions, and global change. The objective of this paper is to evaluate LAI values obtained by several research teams using different methods for a broad spectrum of …