Farmland birds have declined throughout Europe over recent decades. Many farmland songbirds are associated with linear woody features on field boundaries, such as hedgerows and tree lines. Previous studies have assessed songbird associations with specific hedgerow and tree characteristics, and their landscape context, but large-scale assessments have been limited by difficulties in mapping linear woody networks over large extents, particularly their height structure. We used a high-resolution lidar model of the complete network of linear woody features in southwest England (9424 km²), summarising linear feature lengths by height class. Associations were tested between heights of linear woody features and the abundance of 22 farmland birds, using bird survey data summarised for 1446 near-contiguous tetrads, and a weighted version of the phi coefficient of association. Land cover mapping defined tetrads as grassland, mixed or arable farmland.

Results showed that the linear woody network was dominated by features corresponding to managed hedgerows (1.5–2.9 m tall, 42−47% of the network by land cover type), followed by tree lines (≥ 6.0 m, 28–35 %). All songbird species had statistically significant, but weak, associations with combinations of land cover and height class of linear woody features, although land cover appeared to be the dominant factor. Many species showed more positive associations with linear woody features on arable farmland than on grassland, particularly for taller hedgerows and tree lines. The results suggest that land-use diversification may benefit some farmland songbirds, such as introducing pockets of arable farming in landscapes dominated by intensively managed grassland. Diverse heights in the linear woody network, incorporating tall hedgerows and trees, would also likely benefit a range of songbird species. The study demonstrates the significant potential of lidar in characterising the structure of linear woody features at the landscape scale, facilitating detailed analyses of wildlife habitat associations and landscape ecology.

近几十年来，整个欧洲的农田鸟类数量都有所减少。许多农田鸣禽与田野边界上的线性木质特征相关联，例如树篱和林木线。先前的研究已经评估了具有特定树篱和树木特征及其景观环境的鸣禽协会，但是大规模评估受到在较大范围内绘制线性木本网络（尤其是其高度结构）的难度的限制。我们使用了英格兰西南部（9424 km ²），按高度类别总结线性要素的长度。使用汇总的1446个近邻四足动物的鸟类调查数据以及phi关联系数的加权形式，对线性木本特征的高度和22只农田鸟类的丰度之间的关联进行了测试。土地覆盖图将四肢定义为草地，混合或耕地。

结果表明，线性木本网络以与受控树篱相对应的特征（高1.5–2.9 m，占土地覆盖类型的网络的42–47％）为主，其次是树线（≥6.0 m，28–35％）。尽管土地覆盖似乎是主要因素，但所有鸣禽物种在统计学上均与土地覆盖和线性木本性状的高度类别的组合相关，但具有统计学意义，但较弱。与耕地相比，可耕种农田中的许多物种与线性木本性具有更强的正相关性，特别是对于较高的树篱和林木而言。结果表明，土地利用的多样化可能使某些农田鸣禽受益，例如在集约化管理的草原占主导的景观中引入可耕作的土地。线性木本网络中的各种高度，包括高大的树篱和树木，也可能使一系列鸣禽物种受益。这项研究证明了激光雷达在表征景观尺度上线性木本特征结构方面的巨大潜力，从而有助于对野生动植物栖息地关联和景观生态学进行详细分析。