This file is a companion to the data set 

	"Global Leaf Area Index Data from Field Measurements, 1932-2000."


Below is a list of column headings used in the LAI data set in the order 
in which they occur. 

Also listed are the 15 biome / land cover classes and their descriptions used in
 the LAI data set. In the LAI data file, missing values or empty fields are 
indicated by large negative numbers beginning "-99", or "N/A" (not available) in
 the case of text fields. 

A technical memorandum on the historical LAI data set is available in several
different formats from our Web site (www.daac.ornl.gov).

ORNL DAAC User Services Office
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Telephone: +1 (865) 241-3952
E-mail: ornldaac@ornl.gov


This file is LAI_comp.txt and was last updated 08-Jan-2002.
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Variable                    Definition
--------------------        ------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitename                    Unique common name for study site, where reported
Country                     Country of study
Latitude                    Latitude (decimal degrees) to two decimal places (South is negative by convention)
Longitude                   Longitude (decimal degrees) to two decimal places (West is negative by convention)
LAI                         Leaf area index, as reported (m2/m2 or dimensionless)
Time of Measurement         Season, month, occasionally exact date
Year_LAI                    Year of original study, where reported (otherwise assumed to be equal to Year_pub)
Methodology/ Comments       Methodologies: A - destructive harvest; B - litterfall; 
				C - allometry; D - point quadrat/plumb line; 
				E - Indirect non-contact (LAI-2000 or other); X - unknown
                            Further comments provided where additional information was reported
                            N.B. SLA x wt. = specific leaf area multiplied by leaf weight
Biome                       biome / land cover type, as reported
Biomecover                  biome / land cover type assigned to one of 15 classes *(see below)
Dominant species            Major species/ genus/ family, where reported
Author                      Name of first author of original reference
Year_pub                    Year of publication
ANPP                        Above-ground net primary productivity (g/m2/year dry matter)
BNPP                        Below-ground net primary productivity (g/m2/year dry matter)
TNPP                        Total net primary productivity (ANPP + BNPP) (g/m2/year dry matter)
Elevation (m)               Elevation of study site in meters, as reported
Age                         Age of vegetation stand in years (mostly reported for forests)
Remarks/ Original source    Additional remarks about peculiarities of the study; references to previous or related studies

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*List of 15 biome / land cover classes used in the LAI data set

Acronym                     Biome / land cover

Tundra                      Tundra, circumpolar and alpine
Desert	                    Deserts
Wetland	                    Wetlands, temperate and tropical
Grassland	            Grasslands, temperate and tropical
Crops	                    Crops, temperate and tropical
Shrub	                    Shrubland, heath or Mediterranean-type vegetation
Plantation	            Plantations (managed forests); temperate deciduous broad-leaf, 
                              temperate evergreen needle-leaf and tropical deciduous broad-leaf
Forest / BoDBL	            Forest, boreal deciduous broad-leaf
Forest / BoENL	            Forest, boreal evergreen needleleaf
Forest / BoTeDNL	    Forest, boreal/temperate deciduous needle-leaf
Forest / TeDBL	            Forest, temperate deciduous broad-leaf
Forest / TeENL	            Forest, temperate evergreen needle-leaf
Forest / TeEBL	            Forest, temperate evergreen broad-leaf
Forest / TrDBL	            Forest, tropical deciduous broad-leaf
Forest / TrEBL	            Forest, tropical evergreen broad-leaf

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