Research Station at Opocno 2 articles published in JoVE Environment Field Measurement of Effective Leaf Area Index using Optical Device in Vegetation Canopy Jakub Černý1,2, Radek Pokorný2 1Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, Research Station at Opočno, 2Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno Fast and precise leaf area index (LAI) estimation in terrestrial ecosystems is crucial for a wide range of ecological studies and calibrating remote sensing products. Presented here is the protocol for using the new LP 110 optical device for taking ground-based in situ LAI measurements. Environment Leaf Area Index Estimation Using Three Distinct Methods in Pure Deciduous Stands Jakub Černý1, Radek Pokorný2, Pavel Haninec2,3, Pavel Bednář1 1Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, Research Station at Opočno, 2Department of Silviculture, Mendel University in Brno, 3Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocenology, Mendel University in Brno An accurate estimation of leaf area index (LAI) is crucial for many models of material and energy fluxes within plant ecosystems and between an ecosystem and the atmospheric boundary layer. Therefore, three methods (litter traps, needle technique, and PCA) for taking precise LAI measurements were in the presented protocol.