BigFoot Leaf Area Index Surfaces for North and South American Sites, 2000-2003

The BigFoot project gathered leaf area index (LAI) data for nine EOS Land Validation Sites located from Alaska to Brazil from 2000 to 2003. Each site is representative of one or two distinct biomes, including the Arctic tundra; boreal evergreen needleleaf forest; temperate cropland, grassland, evergreen needleleaf forest, and deciduous broadleaf forest; desert grassland and shrubland; and tropical evergreen broadleaf forest. LAI was measured at plots within each site for at least two years using standard direct and optical methods at each site. BigFoot was funded by NASA's Terrestrial Ecology Program.