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The gradual reduction of brown coal mining in Podkrušnohoří represents a unique opportunity for large-scale restoration of severely damaged or destroyed natural ecosystems. However, what such restoration should look like is still the subject of heated debate. There is a lack of systematic monitoring of restored habitats, and commonly used field surveys are demanding and, therefore, limited in time and space. The team of Vítězslav Moudrý from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of CZU in Prague is trying to overcome these limitations using detailed aerial laser scanning and hyperspectral imaging. Their study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, focused on the relationship between the species richness of birds at the Radovesická dump in the Teplice region and the character of vegetation detected using remote sensing.
The study showed that a diverse mosaic of habitats with different heights of vegetation and also with the presence of aging (dry) vegetation is very important for high biodiversity. The number of bird species was significantly higher even at relatively low values of tree and shrub cover. "In the future, we could effectively monitor and evaluate changes in the structure of vegetation in large areas using remote sensing and thus estimate in a timely and better way whether the habitat of a species is disappearing or propose appropriate management of such areas. This would reduce the need to repeat demanding field surveys," adds Vítězslav Moudrý, the principal investigator of the international EarthBridge project, who also spoke about the issue for Czech Television:
https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/1096902795-studio-6/225411010100602/cast/1119371/
Open-pit coal mining has long-term negative impacts on the landscape. It leads to destroying original ecosystems and, thus, decreases species diversity. To minimize the adverse effect of mining after its termination, considerable efforts are made to restore the landscape, with the method of restoration predetermining the future character of the emerging habitats. Parts of the dumps represent valuable, early successional habitats that otherwise gradually disappear from the landscape used by humans. They are, therefore, rightly valued for their often unique character and importance for many groups of organisms, predominantly plants, insects, amphibians, and birds. Habitat diversity, i.e., the variability of environmental conditions, such as the species composition and structure of vegetation or the rugged terrain, is one of the crucial factors supporting biodiversity.
The activities of researchers from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences in areas affected by mining have long focused on studying the relationships between the species diversity of organism communities and the heterogeneity of the environment. However, it is only in recent years that aerial remote sensing has been used in this research. The researchers now first focused on the relationships between the diversity (heterogeneity) of habitats derived from laser scanning and hyperspectral imaging data and the diversity of birds on the Radovesická dump and its surroundings. In total, they recorded 83 bird species. While birds nesting in the undergrowth and treetops predominated in the vicinity of the dump, birds nesting on the ground predominated on the dump. This is related to the lower coverage of the tree layer and undergrowth and the relatively low vertical structure of vegetation on the dump compared to the surrounding vegetation. The nature of the vegetation significantly influenced the overall species richness. Biodiversity increased significantly even with a slight increase in tree and shrub cover. At the same time, the vertical structure, the amount of aging (dry) vegetation, and the terrain's ruggedness significantly contributed to the enhancement of the species richness of the bird community.
As previous research has shown, these characteristics are essential for many rare species. Knowledge of these characteristics can, therefore, help in planning successful and sustainable reclamation of post-mining areas.
The CZU scientists researched within the framework of the international EarthBridge project and the RUR - Region for University, University for Region project funded by the EU operational program Just Transition.
Citation:
, , , , , , , , , , & (2025). Habitat heterogeneity from lidar and hyperspectral data: Implications for bird guilds and restoration management of coal mines. Journal of Applied Ecology, 00, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70071
