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Description: While the land surface is highly dependent on the atmosphere above it, changes in the land surface can drive large responses in the atmosphere on local, regional, and global scales. Surface properties control the partitioning of energy within the surface energy budget. Changes in surface energy fluxes can impact the atmosphere on local scales through changes in temperature or cloud cover, and global scales through changes in large scale atmospheric circulation. We test the sensitivity of the atmosphere to global changes in three land surface properties: albedo, evaporative resistance, and surface roughness. We show that the climate impact of changing a land surface property differs drastically between simulations run with an offline land model alone compared to coupled land-atmosphere simulations which allow for atmospheric feedbacks. Atmospheric feedbacks play a critical role in defining the temperature response to changes in albedo and evaporative resistance, particularly in the extra-tropics, with atmospheric feedbacks accounting for over 50\% of the surface temperature response to changing albedo in over 80\% of land areas. Changes in each surface property drive spatially distinct patterns of atmospheric feedback-driven surface temperature changes. By individually testing the climate impact of the different surface properties associated with vegetation change, we improve our fundamental understanding of both how and why changes in vegetation cover drive responses in the atmosphere. Additionally, we develop understanding of the role of individual land surface properties in controlling climate across spatial scales - critical to understanding the effects of land-use change on Earth's climate.