###### Abstract  
Incident solar radiation (insolation) passing through the forest canopy to the ground surface is either absorbed or scattered. This phenomenon, known as radiation attenuation, is measured using the extinction coefficient (K). The amount of radiation reaching the ground surface of a given site is effectively controlled by the canopy's surface and structure, determining its suitability for plant species. [PERSON]'s and [PERSON]'s biodiversity indexes were selected as spatially explicit response variables for the regression equation using canopy structure metrics as predictors. Independent variables include modeled area solar radiation, LiDAR-derived canopy height, effective leaf area index data derived from multi-spectral imagery and canopy strata metrics derived from LiDAR point-cloud data. The results support the hypothesis that (1) canopy surface and strata variability may be associated with understory species diversity due to radiation attenuation and the resultant habitat partitioning and that, (2) such a model can predict both this relationship and biodiversity clustering. The study data yielded significant correlations between predictor and response variables and were used to produce a multiple-linear model comprising canopy relief, the texture of heights, and vegetation density to predict understory plant diversity. When analyzed for spatial autocorrelation, the predicted biodiversity data exhibited non-random spatial continuity. b 2021 18 August 2021 23 August 2021  
resiliency in forest stands due to increased spatial, temporal and biogeochemical efficiencies in site utilization [4; 5; 6]. These plant communities also tend to be less vulnerable to pathogens, the negative effects of high intensity wildfire and wind related disturbances [7]. It has been shown that the rates of such processes are affected by the spatial configuration of the environment. This study develops a hypothesis that \(\alpha\)-diversity is influenced by two aspects of environmental heterogeneity: the range of environmental conditions (i.e., environmental variability) influencing the number of types of habitats available and the spatial configuration of those habitats [8]. The spatial variability of biodiversity on larger scales has been characterized by bio-geographers with respect to latitudinal gradients. Meta-studies indicate that mechanisms such as solar energy, climate and area-specific processes are likely to contribute to species diversity on many spatial scales [8], and also within the vertical and horizontal structural variation in forest landscape. The asymmetric competition for light, for instance, is noted in a forest structure meta-study as a key negative influence on overall productivity [9]. A forest's structure is composed of a landscape scale terrestrial ecosystem including canopy flora, soil type and depth, subsurface biota and hydrology. The canopy is of considerable interest to researchers because of its functional interface with the atmosphere with respect to carbon, water and energy exchange and being the site of primary production [10]. On a global scale, forest canopies support approximately 40% of extant species, 10% of which are predicted to be canopy specialists [11]. Attributable to the complex three-dimensional structure of the canopy affording niche diversification and vertical stratification, approximately 10% of all vascular plants are epiphytic canopy species [11]. Landscape scale meta-studies have observed that stand structure is a biodiversity indicator. [PERSON] et al. [12] noted that mature stands with a stratified canopy had the highest plant species diversity of the 26 stand structure types and across the nine soil classes in the study, in particular stands comprising mixed conifer and broadleaved species with a semi-open canopy, whereas younger single-layered stands had consistently low species diversity. Age of canopy trees was closely associated with taxonomic diversity, followed by canopy stratification, tree species composition and canopy coverage [12].