Land surface processes are strongly controlled by vegetation cover. Current land surface models represent vegetation as a combination of leaf area index (LAI) and green vegetation fraction (GVF) parameters. The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of a spatially and temporally detailed Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based GVF on surface processes in the NCEP Noah land surface model. The largest differences between the GVF data set currently used by the Noah model and the new MODIS GVF data set occur in winter and for tree-dominated vegetation classes. The greatest impact of the new GVF data on the surface energy and water balance is seen during the summer, when the transpiration is increased by more than 10 W/m2 on average for most vegetation types and the July averaged daily transpiration rate is increased by up to 50 W/m2 for evergreen needleleaf sites.