3.05 Remote Sensing of Leaf Area Index, FAPAR, and Clumping Index

Leaf Area Index (LAI), the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), and clumping index (CI) are crucial vegetation structural factors. This chapter mainly describes field measurements, remote sensing methods, and the remote sensing products for these variables. Field measurements include destructive and indirect optical method, and empirical methods, whereas the remote sensing methods are classified into empirical transfer functions, physical model inversion, and machine learning methods. After a description of major global LAI, FAPAR, and CI products, future researches on field measurement improvement, new inversion development, and product enhancement are discussed.