Study On Wildlife Distribution Features And Adaptive Management Of Hunan Hupingshan National Nature Reserve

Hunan Hupingshan National Nature Reserve?HHNNR?is located between 29°50'N?30°09'N and 110°29'E?110°59'E in Shimen County of Hunan Province,bordering with Hubei Wufeng Houhe National Nature Reserve.It covers 66,568 hm²with 97%being collective forests.The main conservation objects of the nature reserve are rare plants,species and their habitats,including Panthera pardus,Neofelis nebulosa,Moschus berezovski,Mergus squamatus,Davidia involucrata,Taxus chinensis etc;as well as the forest ecosystem featured by central sub-tropical evergreen broadleaf.Due to a high ratio of 97%of collective forest in the nature reserve,conflicts between biodiversity conservation and community development have existed for a long time.Aiming at conflicts mitigation,massive resources have been invested by the nature reserve and local government.However,due to the lack of systematical evaluation of conservation effectiveness,a framework with a win-win purpose has not yet been established.Continuous existence of conflicts between conservation and development is universally bothering collective-forest based nature reserves in south China.Based on different characteristics of wildlife species,the paper systematically collected the data out of field patrol and monitoring,identified the wildlife distribution pattern,analyzed the crucial threats factors,and raised an adaptive management plan,expecting to increase administrative efficiency,alleviate conflicts,and provide a reference for other protected areas facing similar dilemma.The main results and conclusions consist of the following:1.By means of data collection from field patrol and the infrared triggered cameras,coupled with the characteristics of wildlife habitats and their distribution relations,a distribution pattern analysis was made on mammals,birds,amphibians and reptiles.Data collected from 22 field patrol routes recorded 25 species of mammals,202 species of birds,and62 species of amphibians and reptiles.The data analysis indicates that due to higher diversity index,the habitat quality of the core zone is higher than the other area in the nature reserve.And the data collected from 120 infrared triggered cameras trapped 21 species of mammals and34 species of birds,among which 11 are national protected species,such as Moschus berezovski,Capricornis milneedwardsii,Naemorhedus griseus,Ursus thi Betanus,and Macaca mulatta.The data analysis indicates a relationship between wildlife diversity index and the functional zoning of the nature reserve.For example,two sample plots--Shengtou and Bafengshan--located outside the core zone?respectively in experimental zone and the buffer zone?,ranked the 2^ndand 4^thamong 6 sample plots in terms of species diversity index,indicating that certain areas outside the core zone is of comparatively high conversation value in the nature reserve.2.According to the impact levels over primarily protected objects,crucial threats were identified.Forest fire had the highest threat level,followed by fire wood collection,poaching and illegal fishing,road construction,illegal logging,tourism,illegal collection,and pasturing.Spatial distribution pattern analysis shows:the area suffered from severe human disturbance amounted to 28%in the nature reserve,with the buffer zone having the highest percentage of threatened area?35.9%?,whose farmlands and economic forests reached 14.73%.3.Based on the features of the wildlife distribution,while overlapped with data of human activities and functional zoning,results indicate that a more optimized scope and functional zoning are required.When integrating 5 isolated patches in the core zone into 4 concentrated areas,wildlife species would increase by additional 244 records of vascular plant species,133vertebrate species,2 national key protected wild plants,and 5 wild animals.Furthermore,human disturbance would decrease dramatically due to a reduced population in the core zone from 6726 to 3207,a more effective management in the nature reserve.The innovation views of the paper include:a)collected biodiversity information systematically and established a fundamental database which are beneficial for an effective conservation and management in the nature reserve;b)applied spatial analysis method precisely in the analysis of key issues encountered by the nature reserve and raised countermeasures correspondingly.