 This article describes the development and evaluation of 30-year long global vegetation data sets of leaf area index, LAI, and fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by vegetation, FPR. These data sets are critical for monitoring global vegetation dynamics and modeling exchanges of energy, mass, and momentum between the land surface and planetary boundary layer. A neural network algorithm was developed to generate corresponding LAI 3G and FPR 3G data sets with 15-day temporal frequency, 112th degree spatial resolution, and a temporal span of July 1981 to December 2011. The quality of these data sets for scientific research in other disciplines was assessed through comparisons with field measurements, existing alternate satellite products, plant growth-limiting climatic variables, and correlations with large-scale circulation anomalies. These assessment efforts attested to the suitability of these data sets for research use in other disciplines. The utility of these data sets is documented by comparing the seasonal profiles of LAI 3G with profiles from 18 state-of-the-art Earth system models, which consistently overestimated the satellite-based estimates of leaf area and simulated delayed peak seasonal values in the northern latitudes. These data sets can be obtained freely from the NASA Earth Exchange, NEX, website. This article was authored by Rangibi Minini, Chulong Pyao, Ramakrishna Arnamani, and others. We are article.tv, links in the description below.