Study on Landscape Pattern Characteristics and Conservation Strategies of Giant Panda Habitat in the Minshan Mountains of Sichuan Province

Abstract

Based on forest land survey data in recent years, the landscape pattern characteristics of the giant panda habitat and potential habitat range were studied, in the Minshan Mountains of Sichuan province. The results showed that: (1) As the landscape type with the largest distribution of giant panda activity trace points, coniferous forest and broad-leaved forest showed the characteristics of the lowest fragmentation, the most complex patch shape, highest patch aggregation and connectivity, and strong stability, indicating that the quality of giant panda habitat of the study area was good and with high naturalness. (2) The distribution area of artificial economic forest, cultivated land and construction land accounted for 5%. These landscape types had high intensity of human activities and were scattered throughout the whole research area, bringing continuous disturbance to the giant panda habitat. (3) With the decrease of the average altitude and the increase of the disturbance intensity, the landscape pattern in the study area showed a trend of increasing fragmentation, mixing degree, diversity and evenness, and decreasing landscape quality and function from north to south. Some protection and management measures were put forward, such as implementing the policy of returning farmland to forest, transforming artificial forest, controlling the scale of construction land in the giant panda habitat and changing the production and life style of the indigenous people, so as to gradually recover and improve the quality of the giant panda habitat,.