Using LiDAR for landscape-scale mapping of potential habitat for the critically endangered Leadbeater's Possum

Abstract

Leadbeater’s possum (LBP) (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) is a critically endangered arboreal marsupial located in Victoria’s Central Highlands in southeastern Australia. Populations of hollow-bearing trees, the key nesting habitat resource for Leadbeater’s Possum, are rapidly declining. Disturbances such as bushfires and timber harvesting are believed to be the major causes in the reduction of hollow-bearing trees and thus the extent, quality, and connectivity of LBP habitat. LBP also requires a connected understorey or midstorey for foraging and movement within the forest. Changes in LBP habitat at the landscape-scale are interpolated from plot-level measures and assumed distribution of habita..