The climatic impact of changes in terrestrial albedo has been studied
using numerous climate models, ranging from simple, one-dimensional en
ergy balance climate models to the most complex, three-dimensional gen
eral circulation models of the atmosphere. In the majority of these st
udies, the land-surface albedos have been prescribed both spatially an
d temporally from albedo observations. The effects of variations in al
bedo, due to such factors as the angular distribution of incident radi
ation and plant phenology (especially leaf emergence, senescence, and
drop), cannot be deduced from these observation-based albedos. To over
come the limitations of using observed land-surface albedos in climate
models, a model of radiation transfer in plant canopies was used to p
redict vegetation albedo. This model incorporates the optical properti
es of the vegetation and soil surface as well as the micro and macrost
ructure of the canopy. Because of the model's reliance on these physic
al properties of the land-surface cover, it is able to account explici
tly for albedo variations caused by factors both internal and external
to the vegetation canopy. Using the physiognomic classification of na
tural vegetation developed by Kuchler, representative canopy architect
ures for each of 31 vegetation types were developed for each month of
the year. Monthly albedos were then simulated for each vegetation type
under a range of irradiance distributions. When these results are com
pared with existing observations of plant canopy albedo, the degree of
correspondence is, in many cases, quite good. Moreover, the dependenc
e of albedo on irradiance distribution predicted by the model agrees w
ell with established theory. Global maps of land-surface albedo are pr
oduced for both clear-sky and overcast conditions in January, April, J
uly, and October using a simple solar radiation model to determine the
incident radiation field. These maps are compared with previously com
piled maps of land-surface albedo. Large differences between the model
- and observation-based global albedo maps occur for each of the four
months. However, the model reproduces many of the large-scale features
and seasonal trends evident in albedo observations.