China has become a global leader in forest restoration, through massive investment and various large-scale programs since 2000. Nevertheless, the overall biodiversity outcomes of these efforts remain to be quantified. Here, using 402 non-migratory forest bird species as indicators, we assess biodiversity changes from 2000 to 2020 at a national scale, controlling for the effects of climate change by using an ecological niche modeling framework. We find substantial biodiversity benefits linked to the expansion of forest extent and the improvement in forest structure, with 73.6% of avian species experiencing habitat expansion and mean species richness increasing by 2.886 ± 8.418. Protection-focused and afforestation-dominated restoration programs both effectively enhanced biodiversity, with planted forests performing similarly to natural forests over this period. Key factors facilitating this enhancement included tree cover and canopy structural complexity. Our findings suggest that restoring planted forests in degraded landscapes can provide substantial biodiversity benefits, although this should incorporate mixed tree species silviculture practices to enhance the structural complexity of planted forests. This study highlights China's achievements but also the potential risks involved in forest and biodiversity restoration, and provides general insights for the optimization of future restoration policy and management in China and beyond.

The umbrella-species strategy has been proposed as an attainable tool to achieve multi-species and community conservation with limited investment. There have been many umbrella-related studies since the concept’s inception; thus, a summary of global study efforts and recommended umbrella species is important for understanding advances in the field and facilitating conservation applications. Here, we collated 213 recommended umbrella species of terrestrial vertebrates from 242 scientific articles published during 1984–2021 and analyzed their geographic patterns, biological features, and conservation statuses to identify global trends in the selection of umbrella species. We found a considerable geographic bias: most studies and, consequently, recommended umbrella species are from the Northern Hemisphere. There is also a strong taxonomic bias, with grouses (order Galliformes) and large carnivores being the most popular umbrella species and amphibians and reptiles being largely overlooked. In addition, wide-ranging and non-threatened species were frequently recommended as umbrella species. Given the observed biases and trends, we caution that appropriate species need to be chosen for each location, and it is important to confirm that popular, wide-ranging species are effective umbrella species. Moreover, amphibians and reptiles should be investigated for their potential as umbrella species. The umbrella-species strategy has many strengths and, if applied appropriately, may be one of the best options in today’s conservation research and funding landscape.

Informed zoning of protected areas to designate where certain activities can take place is important to their success. The conventional strategy has been to design protected areas based on flagship species; however, this has often proven ineffective for protecting other sympatric wildlife. Here, using China's Giant Panda National Park (GPNP) as an example, we evaluated the effectiveness of integrating multiple conservation parameters for flagship and sympatric endangered species to optimize zoning designations, without compromising or jeopardizing the primary goal of protecting giant pandas. We conducted a stepwise spatial prioritization according to taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity for 48 endangered bird and 23 mammal species. Conservation priority areas for each taxon were spatially congruent across diversity indices but differed between taxa. Species richness provided only a weak indicator of conservation values. The current designation scheme for giant panda protection performs moderately well in terms of sheltering sympatric endangered birds and mammals, but there is still scope for improvement. After balancing competing land uses, we identified 7731 km2 with the highest conservation values across taxa and diversity indices, with 26 % of this optimal priority area lying outside of current core protection zones of the GPNP. We recommend that GPNP's current zoning designation criteria are modified to conserve a broader range of species alongside giant pandas, especially to better protect sites from human disturbance. Our findings also have the broader potential to inform conservation planning for protected areas worldwide, enabling the protection of flagship species to be integrated with broader regional biodiversity conservation.

Comprehensive biodiversity protection necessitates the consideration of multiple indexes of diversity, and how the distribution patterns of priority areas may shift under climate change. Galliformes is a globally endangered avian order vulnerable to climate change that provide an important indicator for wildlife conservation effectiveness. Here, we identified priority areas for conserving Galliformes taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity in China and their spatial dynamics subject to climate change, and examined how well existing protected areas align with current and future priority areas.

BACKGROUND:The Chinese monal (Lophophorus lhuysii, Galliformes) is a vulnerable and endemic bird from southwestern China. To better protect this species and increase its population size, genetic markers are urgently needed for investigation and conservation of both wild and captive populations.METHODS AND RESULTS:By using next-generation sequencing, we developed and characterized markers for seven microsatellite loci of the Chinese monal. PCR examination and statistical analysis indicated that these microsatellites exhibited moderate to high levels of polymorphism, with the expected heterozygosity and polymorphic information content ranging from 0.578 to 0.858 and from 0.540 to 0.841, respectively. Cross-species genome comparison further suggests that these microsatellites are a feature of certain galliform species rather than being specific to the Chinese monal.CONCLUSION:A combination of the seven highly polymorphic loci may provide a fundamental genetic toolkit to assess genetic backgrounds and will contribute to design conservation plan, breeding management and other possible studies of the Chinese monal and other evolutionarily related species in the future.

鸡形目鸟类是全球受胁程度最高的动物类群之一.中国横断山脉地区的高山生态系统条件恶劣且气候严苛,分布着多样性极高的鸡形目鸟类,了解其群落结构时空动态对于群落保护至关重要.以横断山脉东缘的四川卧龙国家级自然保护区为研究区域,于2019年5月至2021年1月在海拔3500～4800 m的高山生态系统建立109个红外相机位点对鸡形目鸟类进行监测,共覆盖72个网格(1 km×1 km),累计监测33759个相机日.结果表明,(1)保护区高山生态系统鸡形目鸟类群落由9个物种组成,特有种和国家重点保护物种比例高,具有重要保护价值.绿尾虹雉(Lophophorus lhuysii)、雪鹑(Lerwa lerwa)和血雉(Ithaginis cruentus)相对多度较高,是群落中的数量优势种.(2)鸡形目鸟类群落结构时空动态明显.物种丰富度和总相对多度在灌丛生境和3500～4000 m海拔段最高,繁殖季(4—7月)相对多度远高于非繁殖季(8月—翌年3月).(3)不同物种有不同生境选择偏好,雪鹑显著选择上位坡;血雉显著选择低海拔和灌丛生境,回避流石滩生境;藏雪鸡(Tetraogallus tibetanus)显著选择高海拔和流石滩生境,拒绝灌丛生境;绿尾虹雉未表现出显著选择性,可利用各类生境资源.(4)保护区梯子沟和银厂沟是鸡形目鸟类重要分布区.位于梯子沟和银厂沟的网格监测到较高的物种丰富度和相对多度.基于研究结果,建议将绿尾虹雉设为重要保护对象,并重点关注对3500～4000 m海拔段灌丛生境的保护和管理;将梯子沟和银厂沟作为鸡形目鸟类优先保护区域,促进区域高山生态系统鸡形目鸟类群落的整体保护.

Historically, giant panda conservation in China has been compromised by disparate management of protected areas. It is thus crucial to address how giant panda populations can be managed cohesively on a landscape scale, an opportunity offered by China’s newly established Giant Panda National Park. Here, we evaluated giant panda populations in a metapopulation context, based on range-wide data from the Fourth National Giant Panda Survey. We delineated metapopulations by geographic range, relative abundance, and relative density and assessed the extent of human disturbance each metapopulation faced. We found density-dependent and disturbance-influenced effects on habitat selection across metapopulations. We determined the main effects faced by each metapopulation regarding area sensitivity, population size, intraspecific competition, and disturbance. To enhance the landscape-scale conservation of giant pandas and various other wildlife across China’s national park system, we propose that metapopulation management incorporates population status along with density-dependent and disturbance-related effects on habitat selection.

绿尾虹雉Lophophorus lhuysii是中国特有的高山雉类,国家一级重点保护野生动物,具有极高的保护价值.卧龙国家级自然保护区是绿尾虹雉的重要分布区,但长期以来都缺乏针对性分布调查和生境研究.2019—2021年使用红外相机技术对保护区的绿尾虹雉种群进行了广泛调查,采用物种分布模型评价了其生境质量.结果显示:1)109个红外相机位点中共有66个拍摄到绿尾虹雉,其中银厂沟和足木沟等区域的种群相对多度较高;2)基于47个物种出现点和28个环境变量所构建的MaxEnt生境评价模型显示,保护区内绿尾虹雉的适宜生境总面积765.07 km2,占保护区总面积的38.25％,其中,高质量和低质量生境面积分别为202.22 km2和562.85 km2,并且主要位于核心区;3)气候、植被、地形和人为干扰共同影响绿尾虹雉的生境质量,降水季节性适中、最干季均温和年均温较低、远离河流和公路的灌丛和草甸是绿尾虹雉的最适宜生境.总体而言,保护区的绿尾虹雉生境面积大、质量高且连通性较好,为绿尾虹雉种群资源提供了良好的生存环境.

Pheasants (order Galliformes) are typical ground‐dwelling birds, having a large body size and weak flight abilities. Sympatric pheasants are expected to share narrower niche space and face more extensive interspecific competition. However, little work has been undertaken simultaneously to investigate niche partitioning among sympatric pheasant species across multiple ecological dimensions. We compared microhabitat use, activity pattern and foraging strategy of sympatric Blood Pheasant Ithaginis cruentus , Buff‐throated Partridge Tetraophasis szechenyii and White Eared‐pheasant Crossoptilon crossoptilon on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China, to identify potential interspecific niche partitioning along different ecological dimensions in the breeding season. We found that the Buff‐throated Partridge differed significantly from the other two species in microhabitat use, and the three species showed different foraging strategies. It is likely that niche partitioning reduced potential interspecific competition, thus facilitating the species’ stable coexistence. Our study provides practical evidence of multidimensional niche theory within sympatric ground‐dwelling pheasant species, emphasizing that species interactions and coexistence within a guild are often not uni‐dimensional. Given global conservation concern for maintaining bird diversity, we recommend further restriction of yak grazing in these species’ habitat.

气候变化引起的物种地理分布改变,是生物多样性下降甚至物种灭绝的主要原因之一.研究特有物种的地理分布对于气候变化的响应,对物种的长期保护和管理具有重要意义.本研究以我国特有的山地雉类红腹锦鸡(Chrysolophus pictus)为对象,利用最大熵模型(MaxEnt)对其当前和未来不同气候情景下的地理分布范围进行建模,预测气候变化对其分布和生境质量的影响.结果表明:1)红腹锦鸡当前地理分布较广,在我国中西部多省均有广泛分布,总面积达306191 km2;2)红腹锦鸡的适宜地理分布在未来气候情景下将出现不同程度的缩减,并且呈现向西北方向和高海拔迁移的趋势;3)在气候变化下,红腹锦鸡的生境适宜性将逐渐降低,而破碎化程度将逐渐加剧.虽然红腹锦鸡当前的分布范围面积较大且连通性较好,但在未来的气候变化背景下,该物种将同时面临分布范围缩减和生境质量下降的威胁.为了更好地对红腹锦鸡进行长期的保护,我们建议:参照模型结果进一步调查核实其实际分布;重点关注对其核心分布区和气候庇护所的保护;建立生态廊道以提高生境连通性;随着物种分布变化适应性调整自然保护区范围.

绿尾虹雉(Lophophoruslhuysii)是我国特有的珍稀濒危高山雉类物种,国家I级重点保护野生动物,具有极高的保护价值.四川片口自然保护区位于岷山山系中段,接近绿尾虹雉地理分布的东部边界,但该区域的绿尾虹雉栖息地目前尚缺乏研究.本研究使用MaxEnt模型方法,根据野外调查获得的物种出现点,对片口保护区及周边的绿尾虹雉栖息地进行了预测和分析.结果显示:(1)海拔、年降水量、温度季节性、植被类型和年均增强型植被指数是影响绿尾虹雉栖息地适宜性的重要因子;(2)研究区域内的绿尾虹雉偏好选择海拔较高,年降水量较大,温度季节性变化中等偏高,而年均增强型植被指数偏低的草甸和灌丛栖息地;(3)保护区内绿尾虹雉栖息地总面积仅8.08 km2,占保护区总面积的9.15％,其中最适宜和次适宜栖息地面积分别为1.15 km2和6.93 km2.总体而言,片口自然保护区及周边的绿尾虹雉栖息地面积有限,但斑块间具有较好的连通性.从山系尺度看,该区域种群可能是绿尾虹雉地理分布区域的一个边缘种群,可能更易受到威胁,应当受到更多的保护关注.

To ascertain the population and habitat status of Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) in Baishuihe National Nature Reserve and its surrounding areas in Sichuan province, transect surveys and call counting method were used to investigate the population density of Golden Pheasant, quadrat sampling method was performed to study their microhabitat selection during breeding season of 2018. The results showed that: the average population density of Golden Pheasant was 5.300±1.086 individual/km2 during the breeding season. It was estimated that there were about 402 in study area, of which about 209 were in reserve area. Golden Pheasants preferred to select microhabitat with lower altitude, lower slope position, closer to water resource, more primitive vegetation, better developed arbor and shrub stratum, and lower coverage of rock and bare soil. The survey found that Golden Pheasant was mainly distributed in the experimental area of the reserve with low altitude in protected area and its surrounding region, where was under intense human disturbance including tourism, herb medicine collection and so on. Therefore, to protect Golden Pheasant and its habitat, it is necessary to control human activities and develop tourism resources reasonably in low-altitude areas.

为了解四川白水河国家级自然保护区及周边的藏酋猴(Macaca thibetana)的种群结构及微生境利用情况,2018年采用样线法和样方法对该区域的藏酋猴进行调查,利用Spearman相关性检验及二项式逻辑斯蒂回归模型对藏酋猴的利用微生境和对照样方的差异进行比较,分析影响藏酋猴微生境利用的重要变量.结果显示:野外调查准确计数了7个藏酋猴群,其平均群体大小为38.3只/群,成年个体性比♂:♀=1:2.55;藏酋猴种群中,成年个体占总数的52.51％,亚成体占28.77％,幼体18.72％.微生境利用结果表明:海拔、植被起源、岩石盖度和灌木盖度是影响藏酋猴微生境选择的主要因子,藏酋猴偏好选择保护区内海拔较低、植被起源较为原始、岩石盖度较大、灌木较低的微生境.

Climate change drives remarkable shifts in species' geographical distribution range, representing one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide. Alpine ecosystems haves been experiencing a faster climate warming rate than the global average, but knowledge regarding range shifts of alpine species under climate change is limited. Taking the Chinese monal (Lophophorus lhuysii), a vulnerable Galliform species inhabiting high elevations, as a representative, this study gathered available presence records of the Chinese monal and predicted its distribution range at present and in the 2050s and 2080s under different climate scenarios using MaxEnt models. The results revealed that the current distribution range of the Chinese monal is quite limited (19,371.51 km(2)) and will shift toward both higher elevation and higher latitude under future climate change. The range was predicted to decrease extensively and become more fragmented under RCP 4.5 and 8.5, and its habitat quality will degenerate under all scenarios. Over 50% of the current distribution range is outside of existing nature reserves and the conservation gaps will also shift gradually. To cope with the threats of climate change, we propose some suggestions for long-term conservation of the Chinese monal, including an expansion and adjustment of the nature reserve network to fill current and future gaps in protection, the establishment of corridors to facilitate population dispersal and colonization, a call for more attention to marginal populations distributed at lower elevations, and the development of captive populations for assisted colonization and reintroduction in future. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

明确野生动物栖息地的空间分布格局和影响因子,是有效的栖息地管理和物种保护的基础.基于王朗国家级自然保护区自2001至2018年间的野外调查记录,首次使用MaxEnt模型对蓝马鸡(Crossoptilon auritum)栖息地适宜性进行了分析和评价.结果 显示:(1)地形特征和极端时期的气候是影响蓝马鸡栖息地适宜性的主要环境因子,年最低温高于-14.4℃、海拔约2430-3100 m、坡度小于40°、靠近河流且最干月降水低于4.4 mm的区域属于蓝马鸡的适宜栖息地;(2)保护区内共有蓝马鸡栖息地102.28 km2,约占保护区总面积的三分之一,其中适宜栖息地面积59.41 km2,次适宜栖息地面积42.87 km2,为该物种提供了面积巨大且连通性极好的栖息地;(3)在不适宜蓝马鸡分布的区域,海拔过高和最干月降水量较大是限制其栖息地适宜性的主要环境因子.目前保护区内主要的人为干扰类型是牦牛和马匹的放牧活动,并且放牧强度和区域有扩大趋势,潜在威胁着蓝马鸡种群及其栖息地.因此,基于模型结果和野外调查,为避免保护区内蓝马鸡栖息地的退化和破碎化,提出了控制放牧数量和面积、增强对放牧人员的宣传教育以及定期监测河流水质的保护建议,以期促进蓝马鸡的种群和栖息地保护.

为了解四川白水河国家级自然保护区及周边区域的藏酋猴Macaca thibetana生境状况,本研究于2018年对该区域的藏酋猴进行调查,并结合保护区本底调查和红外相机监测数据,通过MaxEnt模型对区域内的藏酋猴生境进行适宜性评价.结果 显示:在保护区内,藏酋猴适宜生境总面积为63.59 km2,占保护区总面积的21.09％,主要分布于实验区和缓冲区;次适宜生境总面积95.63 km2,占保护区总面积的31.72％;藏酋猴的生境适宜性主要受到年均温、昼夜温差月均值、距最近河流距离、最干季降水、植被类型5个环境因子的共同影响,其最适生境主要分布于昼夜温差月均值约11.7℃,靠近河流,最干季降水量大,年均温10～12℃的寒温性针叶林、温性针阔混交林、温性针叶林及落叶阔叶林之中.总体上,白水河国家级自然保护内藏酋猴适宜及次适宜生境面积大、分布广、连通性好,为这一珍稀灵长类动物提供了重要的优质生存环境.本研究的结果为保护区未来的藏酋猴种群和生境管理工作提供了理论依据.

川金丝猴(Rhinopithecus roxellana)属猴科(Cercopithecidae)疣猴亚科(Colobinae),但与疣猴亚科大多数物种的树栖习性不同,川金丝猴在生活史过程中展现出一定的地栖性.为了解该物种下地活动的节律、行为分布和性别-年龄组成,采用红外相机技术对四川省白水河国家级自然保护区内野生川金丝猴种群的地面活动进行了长期监测.2013—2018年共建立了70个红外相机监测位点,获得86次川金丝猴地面活动的独立捕捉,涉及243只个体.分析结果显示:(1)川金丝猴会在白昼的任何时间下地活动,11:00和19:00为一天中2个下地活动的高峰时段,而17:00为低谷期;(2)夏季川金丝猴下地活动较频繁,冬季则极少;(3)60％以上的个体都在地面进行移动行为,约30％的个体在休息,取食行为仅观察到2例;(4)地面活动个体的成年猴雌雄性比为1.21:1,成年猴与未成年猴比为4.09:1.本研究结果表明,移动是猴群地面活动的主要行为内容,并且下地倾向在性别和年龄间存在差异,支持了川金丝猴下地的主要目的是为了穿越林冠不连续区域的假说.

生境分化是群落物种缓解种间竞争压力,实现同域稳定共存的重要途径,是群落生态学领域的重要研究内容。同域动物的生境分化是空间尺度依赖的生态过程,从不同空间尺度分层研究物种的生境分化,对于全面了解同域动物的共存模式和机制,以及实现多物种整合保护都具有重要意义。2018年1月至8月,在四川白水河国家级自然保护区对同域分布的红腹锦鸡（Chrysolophus pictus）和红腹角雉（Tragopan temmminckii）进行了野外调查,基于MaxEnt模型和样方法,从宏生境和微生境两个空间尺度对其生境分化进行了研究。结果显示:1)在宏生境尺度,两种雉类的适宜宏生境重叠面积达44.59 km~2,分别占红腹锦鸡和红腹角雉适宜宏生境面积的58.73%和44.3%,表明二者在宏生境尺度上没有发生明显的种间分化;2)微生境尺度是两种雉类生境分化的关键尺度,海拔、坡位、最近水源距离和乔木层盖度4个特征上的显著差异,使二者的微生境发生显著的种间分化;3)虽然在不同空间尺度下具有不同的分化程度和方式,但两种雉类在海拔适应性、人为干扰耐受性以及对水源的依赖性上的差异在两个尺度下表现出了一定的一致性。此外,基于二者生境需求的异同,提出了控制人为干扰、加强宣传教育、维持自然植被多样性和镶嵌格局等针对该区域雉类物种共同保护的建议。