Effect of spatial resolution on estimating surface albedo: A case study in Speulderbos forest in The Netherlands

► This study investigates the canopy level surface albedo variability of a patchwork forest. ► The diurnal pattern of surface albedo exhibits a “bowl” shape and is consistent with the previous findings for needleleaf forest canopies. ► Both the visual characteristics and descriptive statistics indicate that with increasing pixel size, the spatial variability of the albedo progressively decreases. ► The albedo histograms transform from near-normal distribution to either right-skewed or left-skewed pattern as a result of pixel size degradation. ► The semivariogram models provide indicators to quantify the spatial structure within the forest ecosystem classes.