ForHosting KIT · Developer Utilities

Leaf area index calculator

Leaf area index, or LAI, is the total one-sided green leaf area of a canopy divided by the ground area that foliage occupies.

● BetaFree · in your browser

Run — free How it works & API

Use it from WebAPIEmailTelegramApp soon

Ecologists, agronomists, and remote-sensing analysts use that dimensionless ratio to compare a grassland, a wheat field, and a closed forest on the same scale: an LAI of one means one square metre of leaf per square metre of ground, while an LAI of four means the canopy stacks the equivalent of four leaf layers over the plot. This leaf area index calculator converts the leaf and ground measurements you already have — square millimetres from a scanner, square centimetres from a planimeter, hectares from a field map, or acres from a farm record — into square metres, then applies Watson's one-sided definition LAI equals A_leaf over A_ground. It classifies the result as bare, sparse, open, closed, or dense so a lab notebook can sit next to a satellite product without mixing LAI with canopy cover. The same deterministic module powers the free browser widget and the API, so a lecture check and a harvest script never disagree on whether six square metres of leaf over two square metres of plot is an LAI of three.

How to use it

Enter your values in the form above. The tool checks them before calculating and shows the result on the same page.

Check your inputs

Use the labels and units shown next to each field. If something is missing or outside the allowed range, the page points to the field to fix.

Use it again or automate it

Use the browser tool for individual checks and the API when you need the same capability in an automated workflow.

What you can do with it

Get an answer now

Enter one set of values and see the result without building a spreadsheet or script.

Compare scenarios

Change one value at a time and rerun the calculation to understand what affects the result.

Automate repeated work

Use the API when the same calculation needs to run inside your product or workflow.

FAQ

How do I use this capability?

Complete the fields above and run it on this page. The form highlights anything that needs attention.

For developers — API access

Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.

API endpoint

POSThttps://api.kit.forhosting.com/bio/leaf-area-index

Prefer to automate it? One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. The same capability also runs here on the web, by email and from Telegram — and soon from our app too.

Call it from your stack

curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/bio/leaf-area-index \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"leaf_area":6,"ground_area":2}'

const res = await fetch("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/bio/leaf-area-index", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KIT_KEY}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    "leaf_area": 6,
    "ground_area": 2
  })
});
const { task_id } = await res.json();

import os, requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/bio/leaf-area-index",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KIT_KEY']}"},
    json={
    "leaf_area": 6,
    "ground_area": 2
},
)
task_id = res.json()["task_id"]

<?php
$res = file_get_contents("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/bio/leaf-area-index", false, stream_context_create([
  "http" => [
    "method"  => "POST",
    "header"  => "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("KIT_KEY") . "\r\nContent-Type: application/json",
    "content" => '{"leaf_area":6,"ground_area":2}',
  ],
]));
$task = json_decode($res, true);

body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"leaf_area":6,"ground_area":2}`)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/bio/leaf-area-index", body)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("KIT_KEY"))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

Example request

{
  "leaf_area": 6,
  "ground_area": 2
}

Example response

{
  "task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
  "type": "bio.leaf_area_index",
  "status": "queued",
  "_links": {
    "result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
  }
}

The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.

Pricing

Per request$0.002

Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.

Limits

`max_abs`	1000000000000000
`max_area_m2`	1000000000000000

Errors

HTTP	Code	Meaning
`401`	`unauthorized`	Missing or invalid API key.
`402`	`insufficient_balance`	Your balance doesn't cover the task price.
`404`	`unknown_type`	That task type doesn't exist.
`429`	`rate_limited`	Too many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling.

Read the full KIT documentation →