This paper presents a validation and application of an algorithm by Li and Moreau <1996> for retrieving photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed at the surface (APARSFC). APARSFC is a key input to estimating PAR absorbed by the green canopy during photosynthesis. Extensive ground-based and space-borne observations collected during the BOREAS experiment in 1994 were processed, collocated, and analyzed. They include downwelling and upwelling PAR observed at three flux towers, aerosol optical depth from ground-based photometers, and satellite reflectance measurements at the top of the atmosphere. The effects of three-dimensional clouds, aerosols, and bidirectional dependence on the retrieval of APARSFC were examined. While the algorithm is simple and has only three input parameters, the comparison between observed and estimated APARSFC shows a small bias error (<10 W m-2) and moderate random error (36 W m-2 for clear, 61 W m-2 for cloudy). Temporal and/or spatial mismatch between satellite and surface observations is a major cause of the random error, especially when broken clouds are present. The algorithm was subsequently employed to map the distribution of monthly mean APARSFC over the 1000¿1000 km2 BOREAS region. Considerable spatial variation is found due to variable cloudiness, forest fires, and nonuniform surface albedo. ¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union