About Relative Leaf Area Index (RLAI)
(RLAI and LAI crop rasters are multiplied by 100 then converted to an integer raster to reduce file size; for example, RLAI 2.50 is 250, 2.51 is 251, etc.)
RLAI can be used for various types of crops with a green canopy (such as wheat, potatoes, etc.). RLAI is a generalized LAI value - though the RLAI value of 100 (RLAI 1.00) should be viewed as actual LAI 1.00 for any crop it is applied to.
RLAI values can be scaled/calibrated to specific green crop canopies by the user once in GIS. For example, if you are assessing RLAI values for a field and find that RLAI 500 (RLAI 5.00) should only be 400, you can scale the field in the following way: 1) multiply the raster (with the raster calculator) by .75; that will change the RLAI 500 to 375 and RLAI 100 to 75 (even if there is not an RLAI 100 on a field you are scaling, you should complete the steps to scale RLAI back to 100), 2) add 25 to the entire raster; that will change 375 to 400 and 75 to 100. It is important to complete the step that keeps an original RLAI 100 to a scale RLAI 100.