In Africa, rainfall is the most important factor that affects where
people and animals live, and influences patterns of plant growth. Life
thrives when rain falls. These Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) images show characteristics of vegetation in Africa
during December 2000. LAI corresponds to the green leaf area and FPAR measures how much sunlight
the leaves are absorbing. The measurements were taken by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
aboard NASAs Terra satellite.