Satellite-based forest structure metrics as a predictive tool for biodiversity in hyperdiverse tropical forests: A test of the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis in the tropics

Authors

• David Luther, George Mason University
• Marconi Campos-Cerqueira, WildMon
• Aline Medeiros, George Mason University
• Aidan McCarthy, George Mason University
• Emilia Roberts, George Mason University
• Xiaoxuan Li, George Mason University
• Paulo Bobrowiec, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Da Amazonia
• Jared Wolfe, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow
• Gabriel Augusto Leite, WildMon
• Tomaz Nascimento de Melo, WildMon
• José W. Ribeiro, WildMon
• Thiago Bicudo, WildMon
• Konrad Wessels, George Mason University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2026

Department

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Abstract

Tropical forests hold the most species yet face the greatest threats and knowledge gaps. To improve tropical biodiversity knowledge we combined satellite-based LiDAR with in situ bird, mammal, and acoustic soundscape data, via camera and audio recorders, at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in the Amazon rainforest and tested the habitat heterogeneity-diversity hypothesis as a predictor of alpha diversity in tropical forests. GEDI spaceborne LiDAR was used to assess the predictive power of vertical forest structure on acoustic diversity and species diversity in lowland tropical forests. In 4 months, we detected 201 bird and 35 mammal species representing 80% of known forest bird and 69% of non-flying mammal species at the BDFFP. We also found an increase in acoustic diversity and species diversity at sites with greater diversity in vertical forest structure as measured by the GEDI metric Foliage Height Diversity thus supporting the habitat heterogeneity-diversity hypothesis. The combined satellite based and in situ biodiversity results provide a framework for a systematic method to predict, and then verify, tropical biodiversity at local scales with global application to better inform conservation-based decisions.

Publisher's Statement

© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2026.101212 

Publication Title

Environmental and Sustainability Indicators

Recommended Citation

Luther, D., Campos-Cerqueira, M., Medeiros, A., McCarthy, A., Roberts, E., Li, X., Bobrowiec, P., Wolfe, J., Leite, G., de Melo, T., Ribeiro, J., Bicudo, T., & Wessels, K. (2026). Satellite-based forest structure metrics as a predictive tool for biodiversity in hyperdiverse tropical forests: A test of the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis in the tropics. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 30. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2026.101212
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p2/2429

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Version

Publisher's PDF