This file contains leaf area index (LAI) based on biomass measurements from an aboveground pluck in the southern portion of the Anaktuvuk River fire scar, and a nearby unburned site in late July 2017. Vegetation was sampled randomly at 10-m intervals along two 100 meter transects at both the burned and unburned sites. Vegetation was sampled within a 10X40 cm quadrat to the mineral layer, and plant material was sorted into new and old aboveground leaf and woody biomass by species. All samples were dried and weighed, and subsampled leaf material was scanned to determine specific leaf area (centimeterSquaredPerGram biomass) per species, which was then used to transform leaf biomass (gramPerMeterSquared) into the leaf area index for each site.