Modeling forest songbird species richness using LiDAR-derived measures of forest structure

Conservation of biodiversity requires information at many spatial scales in order to detect and preserve habitat for many species, often simultaneously. Vegetation structure information is particularly important for avian habitat models and has largely been unavailable for large areas at the desired resolution. Airborne LiDAR, with its combination of relatively broad coverage and fine resolution provides existing new opportunities to map vegetation structure and hence avian habitat. Our goal was to model the richness of forest songbirds using forest structure information obtained from LiDAR data. In deciduous forests of southern Wisconsin, USA, we used discrete-return airborne LiDAR to derive forest structure metrics related to the height and density of vegetation returns, as well as composite variables that captured major forest structural elements. We conducted point counts to determine total forest songbird richness and the richness of foraging, nesting, and forest edge-related habitat guilds. A suite of 35 LiDAR variables were used to model bird species richness using best-subsets regression and we used hierarchical partitioning analysis to quantify the explanatory power of each variable in the multivariate models. Songbird species richness was correlated most strongly with LiDAR variables related to canopy and midstory height and midstory density (R2 = 0.204, p < 0.001). Richness of species that nest in the midstory was best explained by canopy height variables (R2 = 0.197, p < 0.001). Species that forage on the ground responded to mean canopy height and the height of the lower canopy (R2 = 0.149, p < 0.005) while aerial foragers had higher richness where the canopy was tall and dense and the midstory more sparse (R2 = 0.216, p < 0.001). Richness of edge-preferring species was greater where there were fewer vegetation returns but higher density in the understory (R2 = 0.153, p < 0.005). Forest interior specialists responded positively to a tall canopy, developed midstory, and a higher proportion of vegetation returns (R2 = 0.195, p < 0.001). LiDAR forest structure metrics explained between 15 and 20% of the variability in richness within deciduous forest songbird communities. This variability was associated with vertical structure alone and shows how LiDAR can provide a source of complementary predictive data that can be incorporated in models of wildlife habitat associations across broad geographical extents.