Using LiDAR to reveal the canopy structure differentiation of artificially restored plant communities in coal mining subsidence area

Taking the coal mining subsidence area in the National Soil and Water Conservation Science and Technology Demonstration Park of Daliuta Coal Mine in Shaanxi Province as the test area, the light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data obtained by drone were used to estimate canopy structure parameters of plant communities and reveal the differences of canopy structure under different plant configuration patterns. The results show that: using LiDAR data can accurately and reliably estimate four canopy structure parameters of plant communities, including canopy height, canopy cover, leaf area index, and leaf height diversity; there is a significant positive correlation between canopy cover in the horizontal direction, canopy height and leaf height diversity in the vertical direction, and the leaf area index in the horizontal direction is less affected by the vertical structure; the plant configuration pattern has a significant impact on community canopy structure. After ecological restoration, the vertical hierarchical structure of the arbor community is better, while the horizontal structure of the shrub community is better. The research shows that the LiDAR remote sensing method based on drone can effectively reveal the heterogeneity of canopy structure of ecological restoration plant communities in coal mining subsidence area, and provide basic data and scientific basis for the monitoring and evaluation of mine ecology.