Conservation of giant panda habitat in South Minshan, China, after ...

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Panda habitat conservationXu et al.356K3LongxihongkouNRDujiangyanBaishuihe NRJiudingshan NRFigure 3. Panda habitat loss and proposed key areas and corridors in South Minshan.Three key areas (K1, K2, and K3) and two corridors (C1 and C2) are proposed forthe conservation of panda habitat outside nature reserves after the earthquake.about 63% of the remaining panda habitat lies below2000 m, where MPS is two or three times greater thanthat at higher elevations (Table 2).Distribution of the remaining habitat was different insideand outside the nature reserves. Although 515 km 2 (43.6%)of the post-earthquake habitat was protected within thereserves, the MPS inside the reserves was 0.06 km 2 , and itwas 0.26 km 2 outside the reserves; thus, it was only 23% ofthat outside the reserves (Table 3). In one especially severecase, the MPS of the Baishuihe NR inside PengzhouCounty was only 7% of that outside the reserve, showing asizable difference in habitat fragmentation inside and outsidethe reserves. This indicated that although a large proportionof panda habitat was protected in the reserves,habitat connectivity therein is generally worse than thatoutside of the reserves. The exception to this was AnxianCounty, where habitat inside the reserve was less fragmentedthan habitat outside the reserve.Table 2. Characteristics of the remaining panda habitatin different elevation rangesElevation Area Area MPS(m) (km 2 ) (%) (km 2 )< 1500 377.69 31.9 0.141500–2000 367.02 31.0 0.112000–2500 204.83 17.3 0.062500–3000 148.02 12.5 0.05> 3000 84.70 7.1 0.03Total 1182.26 100.0 0.11C2K2PengzhouShifangQianfoshan NRC1K1MianzhuAnxianProposed key areas and corridors forconservation of the remaining habitatoutside nature reservesWe identified three key areas of habitat thatlie outside the reserves (K1, K2, and K3) thatshould be protected, based on panda populationdistribution and habitat status after theearthquake. K1 is located along the boundarybetween Anxian and Mianzhu counties, andconnects the Jiudingshan and QianfoshanNRs. This area included about 75 km 2 ofundamaged habitat, and panda feces werefound here between 2006 and 2007 duringfield patrolling (ie before the earthquake). K2is located along the boundary betweenPengzhou and Shifang counties. It is thelargest block of remaining habitat, with atotal area of about 173 km 2 . Connecting themost fragmented habitat within two naturereserves (Baishuihe and Jiudingshan), thisarea has the greatest potential for use by pandas.Evidence of panda inhabitation wasfound in this key area in 2001, during theThird National Panda Survey (State ForestryAdministration 2006), but it is not clear ifpandas currently reside in the area. K3 lies inthe western part of Dujiangyan County and isconnected to Longxi-hongkou NR. Theremaining habitat in this area is about 60 km 2 and, accordingto field surveys, was recently used by pandas.Besides these key areas, two other areas (C1 and C2) wereidentified as corridors. C1 lies in the northern part of K1.At an elevation of about 1800 m, this area will connect tworeserves (Qianfoshan and Jiudingshan) and the K1 area.Although some habitat here was damaged, corridor constructionand habitat restoration should promote pandamovement between K1 and the reserves. C2 is located inthe eastern section of Baishuihe NR. This area could reestablishthe connection between Baishuihe andJiudingshan, which was destroyed by the earthquake. Thisarea is critical, not only for connecting Baishuihe NR,Jiudingshan NR, and K2, but also for linking together thenorth and south parts of South Minshan.Panda populationCorridorsNature reservesKey areasCountiesLost habitatRemaining habitat DiscussionIn this study, we used Landsat images and field data to analyzechanges in panda habitat before and after the May 12 earthquake.Our analysis showed that 354 km 2 (23%) of the pandahabitat in the South Minshan region was lost as a result ofthe earthquake and subsequent landslides and mudflows. Inaddition, the remaining habitat was fragmented into severalblocks and many small patches. There is a high probabilitythat this will have separated and fragmented the panda populationinhabiting this region (about 35 individuals, accordingto the Third National Panda Survey; State ForestryAdministration 2006). Isolation of small populations of pan-www.frontiersinecology.org© The Ecological Society of America
Xu et al.Panda habitat conservationdas increases the possibility of their extinction in the wild,due in part to an increased potential risk of inbreeding(Wang et al. 2002). Furthermore, habitat loss was mainlylocated inside nature reserves, and the less fragmented habitatthat remained after the earthquake was largely distributedoutside these reserves. The current reserve system in thisregion is therefore facing a major challenge. It is vital thatconservation measures are established to protect panda habitatoutside the existing reserves and to create corridors so thatpandas can move between isolated populations.We propose that three key areas and two corridors in thisregion should be protected, to ensure the long-term sustainabilityof the giant panda population and its habitat.Given that these key areas are comparatively large in size,contain relatively intact habitat, and are in close proximityto existing nature reserves, they should be incorporatedinto the nature reserve system as rapidly as possible. Theinclusion of K2 in the reserve system should be the highestpriority. Moreover, C1 and C2 should be established as corridors,allowing the remaining pandas in the population tomove between different habitat fragments. The proposedkey areas and corridors, together with current reserves,should be formed into a management unit, to enhancehabitat conservation.In order to improve the effectiveness of this managementunit, some issues need to be addressed. First, disturbancesdue to human activities must be minimized. Humanimpacts were among the most serious threats to giant pandasbefore the earthquake. The coupled effects of humandisturbance and the earthquake could be a serious obstacleto future conservation of the giant panda and its habitat.Because most of the intact habitat is distributed at lowerelevations, there is a greater probability of disturbance fromthe local people than before, especially as a result of humanactivities connected with post-earthquake reconstructionand tourism. There is thus an urgent need to assess thescope and extent of such disturbances.Measures should be taken to reduce these anthropogenicimpacts, for instance by physically relocating human residentsfrom selected, currently inhabited areas. Such relocationwas included in the overall post-earthquake planningfor this region and mainly involved relocating individualsfrom the areas that suffered heavy damage in the west to lessdamagedareas in the east. The proposed plan could benefitthe local people, moving them away from landthat could still suffer potential damage as aresult of future landslides and other disastersconnected with the earthquake. We proposean addendum to this plan, whereby residentsare relocated from scattered residential plots –in key areas and corridors of panda habitat –to clustered residential areas. This measurewould decrease the total area influenced byhuman activities and consequently has thepotential to benefit the pandas and other animalsthat may begin to occupy the habitatcloser to previous residential areas.(a)Area (km 2 )(b)Area (km 2 )25201510501000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500Elevation (m)201510501 11 21 31 41Slope (degrees)Figure 4. Area of panda habitat losses at different elevations (a)and different slopes (b) in South Minshan.Another possible measure is restriction of the coverage oftourism centers and the size of the tourist population. Suchrestrictions may encourage pandas to utilize habitat to agreater extent than was the case before the earthquake.Preliminary field surveys conducted in October 2008, in theLongchi Forest Park within Longxi-hongkou NR, showedthat several animals, including the forest musk (Moschuschrysogaster) and the rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus bengalensis),inhabited low-lying areas that were affected by theearthquake. There was little evidence that these specieswere using this area before the earthquake, mainly as aresult of impacts from tourism and other human activities.Because of the complexity of wildlife responses to humandisturbance following the earthquake, further research isneeded to evaluate whether such measures are indeed lesseningthe impact of human activities on the giant panda.Habitat restoration is another important issue. SelectionTable 3. Characteristics of remaining giant panda habitat inside andoutside of nature reserves in different countiesArea of habitat (km 2 ) MPS (km 2 )Inside Outside RatioCounties/NR Inside NR Outside NR NR NR (%)Dujiangyan/Longxi-hongkou 137.87 190.16 0.07 0.42 17Pengzhou/Baishuihe 85.83 127.56 0.03 0.44 7Shifang/Jiudingshan 50.23 93.66 0.03 0.33 9Mianzhu/Jiudingshan 179.53 111.68 0.12 0.15 80Anxian/Qianfoshan 61.91 143.83 0.40 0.18 222Total 515.37 666.89 0.06 0.26 23357© The Ecological Society of America www.frontiersinecology.org
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