Coupled quantity–structure fluctuations of riparian vegetation under geomorphic constraints: the integration of field surveys and unmanned aerial vehicle mapping

Abstract

Introduction Riparian vegetation is critical to river stability, but quantity–structure risk under geomorphic constraints remains poorly quantified. Methods Using the Chishui River Basin as a case study, this study combined quarterly field surveys from 25 riparian transects with high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle imagery to develop an integrated framework for identifying coupled fluctuations in vegetation quantity and community structure and their spatiotemporal risk patterns. Results A total of 263 plant species from 185 genera and 65 families were recorded. The results showed that riparian vegetation in the Chishui River exhibited pronounced spatial fluctuation at the basin scale. Biomass peaked upstream in autumn at 425 g m -2 and in the middle–lower reaches in summer at 522 g m -2 , but remained below 400 g m -2 downstream year-round. UAV-derived FVC mean and Texture std were significantly correlated with field-based vegetation-quantity and community-structure indicators, respectively (R 2 = 0.72, p 2 = 0.48, p RI values generally above 0.45, and maximum RI values reached 0.793 and 0.788 in two typical high- RI sections associated with observed human activity and possible engineering-related disturbance. Discussion This integrated framework provides a quantitative basis for cross-scale vegetation monitoring and ecological restoration prioritization in complex basins.

Plant phenotyping relevance

UAV画像から植生量・群落構造を推定し、現地調査指標との相関で検証する統合的な植物状態測定フレームワークが研究の中心であるため。

Code and data availability

植物フェノタイピング解析を再現する公開資産であることを、入力本文と直接リンクから確認できなかったため保留しました。

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