How does replacing forests with cropland change Earth’s albedo?

Replacing forests with cropland generally increases Earth’s albedo, or surface reflectivity. While fully forested lands typically have a lower albedo—ranging from 0.08 to 0.15—unvegetated or agricultural ground often exhibits a higher albedo, sometimes increasing by as much as 0.2 depending on the underlying soil.12

This change in land cover leads to a greater reflection of incoming solar energy back into the atmosphere. In the middle latitudes, this increase in albedo has historically exerted a cooling effect by creating negative radiative forcing. However, the net impact on local climate is complex; while the albedo effect may promote surface cooling, the removal of forests also reduces evapotranspiration, which can lead to surface warming through changes in latent heat exchange. The dominance of either the cooling albedo effect or the warming evapotranspiration effect depends significantly on the specific region and season.2