The role of the vegetation structure, primary productivity and senescence derived from airborne LiDAR and hyperspectral data for birds diversity and rarity on a restored site

Management of restored areas requires ecologically meaningful spatial data providing objective measures restoration success. Understanding relationships between species diversity on the one hand and habitat heterogeneity productivity other can help establish such prioritize management. We used airborne LiDAR hyperspectral to derive characteristics vegetation structure, primary senescent (i.e. old dead vegetation) for prediction richness rarity bird communities colonizing newly available habitats after coal mining. In addition, we analysed, which type agricultural, forest, or spontaneous succession) results in more favourable conditions. The boosted regression trees explained 52% 12% deviance overall rarity, respectively. found that was strongly affected by variance while also presence vegetation. relative importance variables differed rarity. shrub cover had a strong positive effect both, tree richness. herbaceous effects This study, therefore, supports necessity create mosaic with heterogeneous vertical structure including all layers highlights Combination forests sites left succession appears be best strategy increase both