Objective:

To calculate the LAI of the vegetation using leaf area index meter.

Apparatus used:

Tripod, smart phone and Mini Mount with 360° camera with 10MP Pictures, Rechargeable Li-ion Battery and wifi connectivity.

 Description

Leaf area index (LAI): is a dimensionless quantity that characterizes plant canopies. A leaf area index (LAI) expresses the leaf area per unit ground or trunk surface area of a plant and is commonly used as an indicator of the growth rate of a plant. LAI is a complex variable that relates not only to the size of the canopy, but also to its density, and the angle at which leaves are oriented in relation to one another and to light sources.

STEP  1 

 Mount the minimount on a monopod, tripod or a handle. To unlock the minimount push the lever down from upward to downward position.

Minimount Top View

STEP  2 

 The weight is placed on the tubular arm to level the mount. Tighten the screws.

Mount Level is indicated by a spirit green bubble.

Minimount Top View

STEP  3 

 Before acquiring images pull of the flexible black rubber lens cap. Press the mode button to turn on the camera. Connect the camera to smartphone via wifi

Connected

Smartphone can be used to remotely trigger the camera while capturing images.

Minimount Mode Button Panel

STEP  4 

 Place the setup under a vegetation and capture the image by remotely triggering the camera using a smartphone.

The smart phone should be within 20m distance.

STEP  5 

 Select the image sample and The image captured is analysed and vegetative parameters are calculated.

Inference

Leaf area index (LAI): is 0 for Bare Ground and over 10 for dense conifer forests

Latitude [<0=S]	Longitude [<0=W]	GapFraction	Openness	LAI(2000)-Lin	LAI(2000G)-Lin	LAI(2000)-Log	LAI(2000G)-Log