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Integration of natural reserves based on potential habitat protection of the Amur tiger.

GU Yuan-yang, ZHANG Fang-ling, LIANG Xiao-yu, LIU Chang, XING Shao-hua, WANG Qing-chun*   

  1. (School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China).
  • Online:2020-05-10 Published:2020-05-10

Abstract: Amur tiger is classified as the first-class protected wild animal in China. They live predominantly in several nature reserves in Zhangguangcailing, Laoyeling, and Wandashan. A large number of different types of protected areas, such as forest parks, scenic spots and wetland parks, are distributed around those nature reserves. Those protected areas can provide habitats for Amur tigers to a certain extent. However, issues related to management objectives, management mechanisms and other anthropogenic factors resulted in habitat isolation, spatial overlap and other chaotic phenomena. To facilitate the establishment of a natural reserve system with national parks as the main body to carry out comprehensive protection, and to provide support for the construction of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, we used MaxEnt model to predict Amur tigers’ potential habitats based on 44 Amur tiger distribution points and 11 related environmental variables. Based on the distribution pattern of suitability levels of the national naturereserves, national forest parks, national wetland parks and the habitat of Amur tiger, a cost distance method was used to integrate the natural protected areas within the habitats for Amur tiger. The results showed that: (1) The potentially suitable habitats for Amur tigers in China were mainly concentrated in Muling City, Hunchun City, Dunhua City, Ning’an City, Yanji City, Hailin City, Dongning County, Wangqing County, Raohe County, and Baoqing County, with a total area of about 10000 km2, accounting for 1.5% of the total area of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. (2) The potential distribution range of Amur tigers are about 51000 km2, accounting for 8% of the total area of those two provinces. (3) With the contour value of 0.5 in the cost distance diagram as the boundary, 30 nature reserves and 47 surrounding protected areas were divided into nine protectedarea groups, with a total area of 77818.7 km2. Our results will provide reference for the conservation of Amur tiger and the integration of the associated protected areas in the future.