Influences of Climate Change and Land Use Change on the Habitat Suitability of Bharal in the Sanjiangyuan District, China.

Abstract

One of the biggest dangers to the degradation of biodiversity worldwide is climate change. Its oscillations in the future could result in potential alterations to species populations and habitat structure. With Sanjiangyuan District as the study site, an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was utilized to investigate the number and location of the bharal (Pseudois nayaur). The Maximum Entropy model and the Minimum Cumulative Resistance model (MaxEnt-MCR) were coupled to simulate the distribution of wildlife. On this basis, the future geographical distribution of bharal under different climate scenarios was simulated, and the ecological corridor and habitat centroid of bharal were revealed. The results showed that the suitable area of the bharal habitat was 4669 km2, which was mainly concentrated in the Maduo, Qumalai, and Gonghe counties. The potential distribution of the species under different future climate scenarios had a decreasing trend. Under the SSP-245 scenario, the habitat area of bharal in 2030 and 2050 decreased by 25.68 and 44.61% compared with the present situation and cumulatively decreased by 1199 and 2083 km2, respectively. Under the SSP-585 scenario, the habitat area of bharal in 2030 and 2050 decreased by 27.5 and 48.44%, with a total reduction of 1284 and 2262 km2, respectively. Furthermore, a complete loss of habitat was predicted in Gonghe County by 2050. In addition, it was observed that the landscape structure in Sanjiangyuan District would be more fragmented and complex. The continued climate change will seriously affect the habitat distribution of this species. Therefore, preventive measures, such as protecting habitat areas and establishing ecological corridors for bharal, should be implemented in the Sanjiangyuan District. Such measures should not focus solely on the potential degradation but should also be extended to include potential distribution areas for future migration.