A new approach for simulating forest albedo based on spectral invariants

•New, simple approach for simulating the radiation budget of a forest.•Spectral invariants provide an efficient means to link forest structure and albedo.•Simulated albedos agree well with those of a complex input-demanding model.•Model flexibility allows application over a wide range of forest structures.

A simple approach for simulating forest albedo based on the spectral invariants theory was applied to produce the black-sky albedos of 644 boreal forest stands composed of Scots pine, Norway spruce and Silver birch. Results were compared to those simulated using a detailed forest radiative transfer model with input from an extensive forest inventory database. The model based on the spectral invariants produced similar ranges of albedo values for the stands of all species as the detailed model, indicating that despite its simplicity and limited input variables it is flexible enough when predicting the albedo of a forest.