@article{fdi:010066260,
  title = {{D}istance makes the difference in thermography for ecological studies},
  author = {{F}aye, {E}. and {D}angles, {O}livier and {P}incebourde, {S}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{S}urface temperature drives many ecological processes and infrared thermography is widely used by ecologists to measure the thermal heterogeneity of different species' habitats. {H}owever, the potential bias in temperature readings caused by distance between the surface to be measured and the camera is still poorly acknowledged. {W}e examined the effect of distance from 0.3 to 80 m on a variety of thermal metrics (mean temperature, standard deviation, patch richness and aggregation) under various weather conditions and for different structural complexity of the studied surface types (various surfaces with vegetation). {W}e found that distance is a key modifier of the temperature measured by a thermal infrared camera. {A} non-linear relationship between distance and mean temperature, standard deviation and patch richness led to a rapid under-estimation of the thermal metrics within the first 20 m and then only a slight decrease between 20 and 80 m from the object. {S}olar radiation also enhanced the bias with increasing distance. {T}herefore, surface temperatures were under-estimated as distance increased and thermal mosaics were homogenized at long distances with a much stronger bias in the warmer than the colder parts of the distributions. {T}he under-estimation of thermal metrics due to distance was explained by atmospheric composition and the pixel size effect. {T}he structural complexity of the surface had little effect on the surface temperature bias. {F}inally, we provide general guidelines for ecologists to minimize inaccuracies caused by distance from the studied surface in thermography.},
  keywords = {{T}hermography ; {T}hermal bias ; {D}istance ; {M}icroclimate ; {L}eaf temperature},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{J}ournal of {T}hermal {B}iology},
  volume = {56},
  numero = {},
  pages = {1--9},
  ISSN = {0306-4565},
  year = {2016},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.11.011},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010066260},
}