Temperature Check: Using Thermal Imagery to Assess Forest Health
December 9, 2021
Jonas Hamberg, Ph. D., is using thermal imaging from drones and satellites to research the health of Toronto regional forests over the next two years. For example, a tree that is stressed from pests, drought, or climate change will have a higher temperature than a healthy tree.
Funded by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and MITACS, Jonas is partnering with Dr. Jonathan Ruppert (Research Scientist, TRCA) and Dr. Patrick James (University of Toronto) to use thermal based imaging to evaluate:
- the cooling benefits of restored forests and other forest fragments, and the role they have on moderating the surrounding landscape temperatures, and
- the potential impact that Lymantria dispar dispar (LDD) moths have in TRCA conservation park forests.