Indirect Measurement of Leaf Area Index in Sagebrush-Steppe Rangelands

Leaf area index (LAI) is defined as the one-sided area of leaves above a unit area of ground. It is a fundamental ecosystem parameter that is a required input of process-based plant growth and biogeochemical models. Direct measurement of LAI is the most accurate method, but is destructive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. LAI is highly variable in time and space on sagebrush-steppe rangelands, and a rapid, nondestructive method is desirable to understand ecosystem processes. The point-intercept method is nondestructive and has been demonstrated to provide accurate LAI estimates, but the method is time-consuming. LAI measurement with the Accupar ceptometer (Decagon Devices, Pullman, WA) is nondestructive and faster than the point-intercept method, but has not been evaluated on sagebrush-steppe rangelands. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ceptometer for measurement of LAI in sagebrush-steppe rangelands. Ceptometer and point-intercept LAI data were collected at six sites in sagebrush-steppe rangelands and the values were compared. We found that 1) ceptometer LAI data were consistently greater than point-intercept LAI data, 2) ceptometer data were much more variable than the point-intercept data based on standard deviations, and 3) the overall correlation between the two methods was very weak (r2  =  0.15). The much greater ceptometer LAI values were, at least partly, due to the large woody component of the vegetative cover. We attribute the high variability of ceptometer-measured LAI to high instrument sensitivity of the angle of the instrument relative to the sun.