Seasonality of leaf area index and photosynthetic capacity for better estimation of carbon and water fluxes in evergreen conifer forests

Leaf area index (LAI), defined as one half the total leaf area per unit ground area, and Vcmax, representing the maximal carboxylation rate of leaves, are two most significant parameters used in most Terrestrial Biosphere Models (TBMs). The ability of TBMs to simulate gross primary productivity (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) for evergreen needle-leave forests (ENF) can be significantly hampered by uncertainties in LAI and Vcmax. Remotely …