森林冠层及其垂直结构在森林与大气的物质、能量交换过程中发挥着至关重要的作用，直接影响着森林生态系统的结构和功能。然而，由于实测技术和研究方法的限制，我们很难获得关于森林冠层的精确和全面的信息。小型无人机遥感的发展和应用为相关领域的开展提供了可能。本研究以小型无人机为监测手段，以常绿阔叶林为研究对象，以四个20公顷以上的森林动态监测大样地和两组0.25-1公顷的森林演替序列样地为研究平台，研究森林冠层结构对构建区域和局域尺度上植物多样性（物种多样性、谱系多样性和功能多样性）的贡献。本研究旨在通过整合多种生物因子（冠层结构、植物竞争等）和非生物因子（地形、土壤养分和气候等），从区域和局域尺度上对常绿阔叶林的物种共存机制进行系统和深入地分析，为该区域植物多样性保护提供理论和实践基础。同时，我们将对所有高分辨率（厘米级）的无人机监测数据实现完全共享，为以大样地为平台的其他工作的开展提供数据基础。

Forest canopy and its vertical structure play a critical role in the exchanges of mass and energy between forests and the atmosphere, and directly affect ecosystem structure and functions. However, due to methodological difficulties on canopy monitoring, it is a huge challenge to achieve the comprehensive information of forest vertical structure with high accuracy. Recently, rapid development of lightweight drone (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV) provides the huge potential on its application in ecology and biodiversity conservation. In this study, we plan to use lightweight drone to monitor spatial variations of forest vertical structure in four large (≥20 ha in area), stem-mapping mature forest plots and two groups of 0.25-1 ha stem-mapping plots along successional series in evergreen broadleaved forests (EBLFs). By combining drone-driven canopy attributes with ground data on topography, edaphic variables, climate and species distributions, we will evaluate the relative importance of these biotic and abiotic variables on structuring three dimensions of plant diversity, including taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity, at both regional and local scales. The expected research findings will shed light on better understanding species coexistence of EBLFs, and provide important information for biodiversity conservation in the dramatically changing environments. Meanwhile, we will make all the high-resolution (~5 cm) drone-driven data free available for all the researchers in these research networks for advanced analyses and comparisons.