A Global Database of Field-observed Leaf Area Index in Woody Plant Species, 1932-2011

This data set provides global leaf area index (LAI) values for woody species. The data are a compilation of field-observed data from 1,216 locations obtained from 554 literature sources published between 1932 and 2011. Only site-specific maximum LAI values were included from the sources; values affected by significant artificial treatments (e.g. continuous fertilization and/or irrigation) and LAI values that were low due to drought or disturbance (e.g. intensive thinning, wildfire, or disease), or because vegetation was immature or old/declining, were excluded (Lio et al., 2014). To maximize the generic applicability of the data, original LAI values from source literature and values standardized using the definition of half of total surface area (HSA) are included. Supporting information, such as geographical coordinates of plot, altitude, stand age, name of dominant species, plant functional types, and climate data are also provided in the data file. There is one data file in comma-separated (.csv) format with this data set and one companion file which provides the data sources.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Earthdata Forum
Last Updated June 8, 2026, 15:57 (UTC)
Created April 1, 2025, 14:04 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id 188b241b-6c35-49db-859a-1d0d355fb614
harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
identifier 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1231
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-06-03T16:52:47Z
programCode {026:000}
publisher ORNL_DAAC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash dca028c8fce39e898adb3c6e61bdbb3c90f95f5a8cb181343355d727d5e035ae
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial ["CARTESIAN", [{"WestBoundingCoordinate": -164.78, "NorthBoundingCoordinate": 78.42, "EastBoundingCoordinate": 175.62, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": -54.2}]]
temporal 1932-01-01/2011-12-31
theme {"Earth Science"}