Habitat connectivity is crucial for species persistence. Although China has established numerous protected areas (PAs) for giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) conservation, their contribution to habitat connectivity remains unclear. To address this, we delineated important habitat connectivity areas (IHCAs) across its entire distribution range and assessed the degree of protection afforded to these areas by the PA network, measured by protection extent and ratio. Furthermore, we identified priority areas for habitat connectivity conservation by analyzing the extent of human modification within IHCAs. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted by varying the IHCA delineation threshold to evaluate the robustness of the protection metrics (extent and ratio). In total, we delineated 17,199 km2 of IHCAs, with the protection ratio increasing from 49 % under traditional nature reserves to 72 % under the Giant Panda National Park and 76 % when both were combined. Among mountain ranges, Minshan had the largest IHCA protection extent, Qinling had the highest protection ratio, and Liangshan the lowest in both metrics. Approximately 26 % of IHCAs are affected by moderate-to-high human modification, with three-quarters of this affected area located in Qionglai and Minshan. Although IHCA protection ratios were robust, the absolute protection extent varied substantially, with coefficients of variation exceeding 50 % in Xiaoxiangling and Liangshan. Overall, we recommend expanding PAs in Qionglai and Minshan while prioritizing connectivity restoration in Liangshan. These findings highlight shortcomings in the panda PA network, provide insights for improving connectivity, and offer a generalizable framework for other species threatened by habitat fragmentation.

Wildlife habitat research underpins ecological conservation and management. Species distribution models are widely used to evaluate habitat; their reliability depends on input survey data quality, which is determined by survey methods. Animal-based survey methods (e.g. GPS collars) are rarely applied because of their cost and complexity, whereas observer-based survey methods (e.g. line transect, camera trapping) remain dominant owing to their practicality, despite their potential to incompletely represent space use patterns of focal species because detection depends on the spatial overlap between observer and animal trajectories. Using giant panda as a case study, we quantified biases in observer-based line transect surveys. Based on environmental resistance to field surveyors, simulated transects under six survey scenarios were overlaid with GPS collar track lines of giant pandas to generate simulated intersection points stratified by resistance cost zones for MaxEnt modelling. Data quality was evaluated by AUC values using different validation. Under GPS-based validation, AUC values increased with the survey effort from 0.4 to 0.8. In contrast, sampling-based validation produced AUC values mostly exceeding 0.9. Sampling-based validation outcomes tend to produce satisfactory results despite deviations from true conditions, potentially overestimating the reliability of survey methods and ecological inference. GPS-based validation indicated that observer-based data still exhibited considerable bias even under substantial survey efforts. These findings highlight the importance of data generation processes; until better survey technologies become widely available, observer-based survey methods remain indispensable. When animal-based survey methods are not available, maximizing survey effort remains essential to ensure observer-based survey data quality.

Achieving universal transition from polluting energy to clean energy faces substantial challenges. Payments for ecosystem services (PES) can promote the energy transition by restricting the exploitation of natural resources and increasing household affordability. However, existing studies have primarily focused on the direct effects of PES on energy use, without taking the household self-selection of PES participation into consideration. In this study, we integrate the Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) methods to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of China's Grain-to-Green Program (GTGP) and Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) on the energy transition in the Black River Basin of Shaanxi province. We found that the GTGP promoted energy transition both directly and indirectly by increasing non-farm income. In contrast, the NFCP and the characteristics of household heads had direct positive effects on the energy transition. In addition, household characteristics and geographic features also affected energy transition. These findings offer important insights for integrating environmental and energy strategies to promote the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The effects of various strategies aimed at simultaneously promoting environmental conservation and human development are closely related to sustainable development regionally and globally. However, although the effects of many such strategies have been evaluated by ecologists and sociologists separately, their ability to simultaneously meet these two anticipated goals (i.e., environmental conservation and human development) at the fine spatial scale remains unclear. To answer this fundamental but crucial question, incorporating household and forest change data, we concurrently estimated the ecological and socioeconomic effects of two world-renowned Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs (i.e., the Nature Forest Conservation Program, the Grain to Green Program) and nature-based tourism in 30 protected areas across 8 provinces in China. Here we showed a trade-off between the ecological and economic effects of two PES programs, while synergistic effects exist in the ecological and economic benefits of tourism. Attributes of household and protected areas significantly influenced economic and environmental benefits as well. Our research provides new insights into the complex effects of PES programs and tourism, and crucial information to support their adequate and sustainable implementation in China and the rest of the world. Significance Statement This work answers a fundamental but crucial question, that is, whether the policies commonly advocated to incorporate environmental conservation and human development can yield positive effects both for conservation and economic development. Our evaluation is also timely to inform some shortness (i.e., negligible economic effects, or the lack of expected positive economic benefits) and provides new insights (e.g., the implication of households and protected-areas attributes in conservation and economic outcomes) of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs and the complex effects of instruments in the context of multiple policies, particularly given the upcoming 2030 deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development goals (SDGs). We expected that implications in this study can provide important lessons for these two instruments, other PES programs, and other conservation and development instruments to support their adequate and sustainable implementation in China and beyond and to contribute to the achievement of relevant SDGs in the remaining years.

Non-grain agricultural land use (NGALU) could be an alternative to payments for ecosystem services (PES) to achieve ecosystem benefits, given their joint contribution to forest transition. Unraveling the correlation between PES and NGALU can enhance cost-effective decisions. While farmland abandonment and non-grain cash crops (NGCCs) plantation are two main manifestations of NGALU, previous studies have primarily assessed the effects of PES on farmland abandonment. Little is known about the effects of PES on NGCC planting. This study evaluated the effects of China’s two nationwide PES programs (i.e., the Grain to Green Program, GTGP, and the Ecological Welfare Forest Program, EWFP) on NGALU in the Black River Basin of Shaanxi province. The study found a wide adoption of NGALU, with 52% of households adopting NGALU. The total area of NGALU is more than half of the afforested area through the GTGP. A quarter of the NGALU area is abandoned farmland, while the remaining NGALU area is planted with NGCCs. The two PES programs did not have effects on NGCC planting, but reduced farmland abandonment. Engagement in labor migration and local non-farm employment increased NGALU, while livestock breeding and farmland area reduced NGALU. Furthermore, the large area and unfavorable geographical conditions of farmland parcels promoted NGALU. These results highlight the important implications of leveraging NGALU to boost ecological gains from conservation investments.

Numerous Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs have been implemented simultaneously around the world but their outcomes in the literature are not consistent and their interactive effects remain understudied. The Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) and Grain to Green Program (GTGP) are two largest PES programs in the world, and many studies have evaluated their effects on household income. However, the identified effects often varied across different studies and the factors explaining this variation are poorly understood. This study used linear regression and geographic detector analysis, based on questionnaire survey data from 14 giant panda natural reserves (NRs) in southwestern China, to evaluate the effects of the NFCP and GTGP on household income and the factors which moderate these effects. The results revealed that the effects of two PES programs on household income were spatially heterogeneous and enhanced by each other and livelihood activities, suggesting a synergistic interaction between policies and livelihood activities, particularly tourism. This study also found that livelihoods activities (e.g., labor migration and tourism), household capital (i.e., house area and farmland area) and demographic factors (i.e., number of labor and non-labor members), exhibit spatial heterogeneity in their effects on household income across NRs. These findings underscore the importance of considering local socioeconomic conditions and the interaction between policy and socio-economic conditions in PES program design to achieve desired outcomes, providing insights for policymakers and practitioners worldwide.

Ecosystem services (ES) have complex flow dynamics that operate across distances. However, ES assessments have focused more on their supply. Few studies consider the impacts of interregional flows on ES provision and the spatial and temporal changes of interregional flows are little known. Here, we quantified interregional flows and analyzed their variations by evaluating the interregional dependency of four water-related ES (water yield, flood mitigation, water purification, and soil retention) in the Yellow River Basin, China. The results showed that about one-third of the basin area had 51.3%-98.9% of the ES sourced from interregional flows, and these areas increased by 2.6%-11.9% during 2000-2015. Generally, the upstream regions with contributions of 64.0%-79.7% of water yield, 93.2%-96.9% of flood mitigation, 89.0%-95.3% of water purification, and 53.7%-97.4% of soil retention played an important role in sustaining the human well-being in downstream regions. Our approach offers a reference for building a telecoupled decision-making for other regions based on interregional flows. Moreover, the results of this study provide insights into interregional dependency on and responsibility for the transboundary ES impacts, and can help in sustainable development of watersheds by achieving environmental equality through guiding transboundary management.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the major threats to many endangered species. Establishing ecological corridors can mitigate the negative effects of habitat fragmentation and connect isolated giant panda populations. To understand the patterns in changes of habitat connectivity among local populations of giant panda（Ailuropoda melanoleuca）, we analyzed the dynamics and influencing factors of suitability and connectivity of suitable habitats for giant pandas in three adjacent reserves（Mabian Dafengding, Meigu Dafengding and Mamize） in Liangshan Mountains using data from the third and fourth National Survey of giant pandas（the 3rd survey in 2000 and the 4th survey in 2010）. The results showed that the highly suitable habitat area of giant pandas increased by 73 km~2 from 3rd to 4th survey, mainly distributed in Mabian Dafengding and Meigu Dafengding nature reserves, while decreased by 4 km~2 in the junction regions of those two reserves. The areas with decreased connectivity were mainly distributed in Meigu Dafengding Reserve and the north of Mabian Dafengding Reserve, with an area of 625 km~2, and the overall connectivity in the study area showed a downward trend from 3rd to 4th survey. The area of increased connectivity was 617 km~2 in the southern part of Mabian Dafengding Reserve and Mamize Reserve. In addition, the least-cost path method was used to simulate the distribution of giant panda potential corridors. The total length of potential corridor was 5130 km in the 3rd survey and 4003 km in the 4th survey, with a reduction of 1127 km from the 3rd to 4th survey. We analyzed the reasons for the changes of suitable habitat distribution and habitat connectivity of giant pandas by combining conservation policies with the economic development characteristics of the surrounding communities. We found that with the implementation of relevant conservation policies（e.g., The Natural Forest Conservation Program and Grain to Green Program）, forest ecosystems and giant panda habitats were effectively protected. However, due to the adjustment of the livelihood mode of local residents（from relying on traditional agriculture to animal husbandry which could provide higher economic value）, the intensity of human activities in some areas had been increased, which hindered the connectivity of giant panda habitats. We suggest that local conservation and management departments need strictly manage the emerging human disturbances to ensure better connectivity of giant panda population, so as to protect the stability and growth of local giant panda population.

Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is an iconic species of conservation. However, long-term monitoring of wild giant pandas has been a challenge, largely due to the lack of appropriate method for the identification of target panda individuals. Although there are some traditional methods, such as distance-bamboo stem fragments methods, molecular biological method, and manual visual identification, they all have some limitations that can restrict their application. Therefore, it is urgent to explore a reliable and efficient approach to identify giant panda individuals. Here, we applied the deep learning technology and developed a novel face-identification model based on convolutional neural network to identify giant panda individuals. The model was able to identify 95% of giant panda individuals in the validation dataset. In all simulated field situations where the quality of photo data was degraded, the model still accurately identified more than 90% of panda individuals. The identification accuracy of our model is robust to brightness, small rotation, and cleanness of photos, although large rotation angle (> 20 degrees) of photos has significant influence on the identification accuracy of the model (P < 0.01). Our model can be applied in future studies of giant panda such as long-term monitoring, big data analysis for behavior and be adapted for individual identification of other wildlife species.

雪豹Panthera unica是生物多样性丧失指示物种,具有重要的保护和科研价值.雪豹特殊的栖息环境和较高的警觉性限制了研究数据的可获得性,导致对其生态和保护的研究进展缓慢且分散、缺乏系统性.本文针对有关雪豹的研究进行归纳、总结与讨论:雪豹生态与保护研究主要方法有7种,全面了解研究方法,可以为最大化利用研究数据提供参考.相关研究主要体现在6个方面:(1)总结雪豹对栖息地的选择以及人为干扰,探寻人豹冲突根源;(2)分析当前雪豹个体识别研究的优势与劣势;(3)阐述当前全球雪豹的种群数量分布;(4)整理已开展的雪豹活动与空间利用模式相关研究结果;(5)综述雪豹食源组成,为进一步完善该研究提供基础;(6)评估雪豹遗传多样性,为今后开展雪豹进化与基因组方面的研究提供参考.本文以了解当前雪豹生态与保护研究现状为目的,同时就目前研究中存在的问题及未来展望进行探讨,以期能为今后的雪豹生态与保护研究提供方法基础与参考方向.

[目的]调查大金川切割山地鸟类资源及人类干扰状况.[方法]于2018年10月至2019年4月采用样线法和样点法调查了大金川切割山地鸟类的物种组成、鸟类多样性及人为干扰等.[结果]共调查到61种鸟类,隶属6目23科49属,其中列入世界自然保护联盟红皮书名录的鸟类4种,皆为近危(NT),国家Ⅰ级重点保护野生鸟类2种,国家Ⅱ级重点保护野生鸟类8种,其中鹰科、雉科、鸫科、鹟科鸟类的多样性较高.不同海拔、生境下的鸟类多样性存在差异,其中2000～4000 m中高海拔地区的鸟类物种丰富度较高,针阔混交林、阔叶林、灌丛中的鸟类丰富度高于草甸、针叶林等.放牧是调查区域主要的人类干扰因子,受干扰的主要是鸡形目和隼形目鸟类.[结论]大金山切割山地鸟类资源丰富,同时也存在一定的人为干扰.建议当地政府应注重发展当地居民的其他生计,控制放牧干扰对野生动物的影响,同时相关保护部门也应加强非自然保护区鸟类资源的监测与保护.

通过采用样线法对大金川切割山地兽类多样性及人类干扰进行了调查.结果表明:调查记录到大中型兽类5目12科29种,其中国家Ⅰ级重点保护动物5种,Ⅱ级重点保护动物12种,被IUCN物种红色名录评估为濒危(EN)、易危(VU)、近危(NT)的物种分别有2、9、6种.物种多样性指数以牛科(D=1.62、H=2.12)最高,均匀度指数以松鼠科(J=2.06)最高;不同生境类型兽类多样性指数及均匀度指数均以灌丛最高;不同海拔区间多样性指数以3700～4200 m区间最高,均匀度指数以2200～2700 m区间最高.该区域兽类受干扰类型主要为放牧干扰,建议控制放牧对野生动物及其栖息地的影响,保护该区域的物种多样性.

本研究采用问卷调查法对大熊猫国家公园建设范围内卧龙国家级自然保护区生态旅游客源特征及行为进行调查,主要结果如下:1)客源集中于四川省内;2)游客男女比例1∶1.3,以19～49岁的中青年(66.8％)、大学及以上学历(66.3％)的中等收入群体为主;3)亲朋好友介绍为主要信息获知渠道,游客多是“家庭自驾出游”,且61.8％的游客仅停留1～2d.对比先前相关研究结果总结出保护区生态旅游客源特征及行为的异同,并结合本研究结果对保护区及国家公园建成后生态旅游的发展提出建议.

为了调查卧龙自然保护区的鸟类资源及分析其时空分布特征,于2015年1月至2016年6月,布设165台红外相机调查卧龙保护区鸟类的物种组成、物种相对丰富度,比较分析鸟类物种在不同季节的物种相对丰富度及在不同植被类型和海拔高度的空间分布.研究共拍摄到鸟类有效照片375张,鉴定鸟类34种,分属4目10科.其中,物种相对丰富度(RAI)排名前五的鸟类分别是小云雀(Alauda gulgula)、绿尾虹雉(Lophophorus lhuysii)、红腹角雉(Tragopan temminckii)、红嘴蓝鹊(Urocissa erythrorhyncha)、普通朱雀(Carpodacus erythinus);在空间上,大多数鸟类主要集中分布在针叶林、针阔混交林及落叶阔叶林,同时小云雀,领岩鹨(Prunella collaris)、绿尾虹雉藏雪鸡(Te-traogallus grbetanus)等鸟类在高海拔的高山草旬、流石滩区域相对丰富度较高.在季节上,夏秋季的鸟类相对丰富度最高,冬季次之,春季最低.提取红外相机获取的数据适用于鸟类的时空利用分布特征研究,且卧龙保护区存在相当数量的鸟类资源,但部分国家级保护鸟类(如红腹锦鸡,白马鸡,秃鹫(Aegypius monachus),普通鵟(Buteo bute-o)等)的物种丰富度相对较低,卧龙保护区应针对这些珍稀保护鸟类展开更加全面的调查研究(如栖息地质量评估、种群结构、种群动态监测等),针对它们的重点分布区域、频繁活动时间与季节严格调控人类干扰.

气候变暖是全球气候变化最主要的表现形式.由于人类活动的影响,全球气候变暖已成为不可逆转的趋势,严重影响物种的生存和繁衍.大熊猫作为世界珍稀濒危物种中的旗舰保护种,具有扩散、繁殖能力低、食物单一、分布范围窄、生境破碎化严重等特点,对气候变化较为敏感,气候变化极有可能成为大熊猫新的生存危机.因此,掌握气候变化形势、科学认识气候变化对大熊猫的影响,对大熊猫的保护工作有重要的理论和现实意义.文章总结了目前气候变化对大熊猫影响的研究进展,提出了一些存在的问题及建议.目前,关于气候变化对大熊猫影响的研究初有成果:气候变化下未来大熊猫主食竹和生境面积都将减少,生境整体破碎化程度增加,大熊猫被迫向更高海拔、更高纬度扩散,且未来大熊猫新增适宜生境多在现有大熊猫分布区外.而先前的研究普遍存在不足之处,如研究方向过于单一、研究范围区域化、研究方法本身存在不确定性、忽略种间关系等问题,使得在应对气候变化方面的大熊猫保护工作一直难以取得显著的成效,希望本文能为今后研究气候变化对以大熊猫为代表的珍稀濒危野生动物的影响提供参考.

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a flagship species of wildlife protection.Much attention has been paid to its survival status and conservation.Population size serves as the basis for giant-panda conservation.So far,the accuracy,operability,and cost of two main survey methods of panda population estimation (distance-bamboo stem fragments method and molecular biological method) have been controversial.We estimated the panda population using both the distance-bamboo stem fragments method and molecular biological method in the main panda distribution areas of the Wolong Nature Reserve in China,and compared the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods.The results showed a more than 50％ lower population estimate for the distance-bamboo stem fragments method compared to the molecular biological method.To improve the sensitivity of the methods for identifying panda individuals and considering the characteristics of giant panda behavior,we propose to reduce the distance threshold value for identifying different individuals in the high-density area of a giant-panda distribution.