Impact of livestock grazing on biodiversity and giant panda habitat

Abstract

Livestock grazing occurs in many protected areas for wildlife and has become a threat to wildlife worldwide. Livestock grazing within protected areas causes negative effects to rare wildlife (e.g., giant panda [Ailuropoda melanoleuca]) and their habitat. We used the 2,000‐km2 Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, southwestern China, to document the effects of livestock on the giant panda and its habitat. We monitored arrow bamboo (Bashania fangiana), wildlife sign (i.e., feces and tracks), and characteristics of plant communities in intact habitat (IH; limited livestock grazing) and disturbed habitat (DH; with grazing disturbance) to assess the effects of livestock grazing and the responses of giant pandas and sympatric species across spatial and temporal scales. Bamboo coverage and the height and basal diameter of bamboo in IH were greater than those in DH, whereas the number of herbaceous species and herbaceous coverage in IH were lower than those in DH. Wildlife signs in IH were greater than those in DH; specifically, giant panda and red panda (Ailurus fulgens) signs were greater, whereas signs of sambar (Rusa unicolor) and tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) in IH were similar to those in DH. Livestock grazing reduced bamboo, which may threaten the long‐term survival of the giant panda. Our results have implications for understanding and management of livestock grazing in the Wolong National Nature Reserve and elsewhere. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.

Spatial Utilization and Microhabitat Selection of the Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) under Different Livestock Grazing Intensities

“…There is little change in vegetation between different areas, likely resulting in a lack of interest in vegetation research by snow leopard researchers. However, with the continuous expansion of livestock grazing in recent years (Wang et al 2019), its impact on the vegetation of high-elevation ecosystems has become increasingly significant. Different grazing intensities have different effects on vegetation in different regions.…”

“…Wolong Nature Reserve mainly focuses on the protection of giant pandas with little focus on the protection of snow leopards, leading to a relative lack of research on snow leopards and their alpine ecosystem. For example, research on livestock grazing effects has been concentrated in low-elevation areas within giant panda habitat (Wang et al 2019), while there has been no research on the effects of livestock grazing on the ecology and conservation of snow leopards in Wolong Nature Reserve.…”

“…Wolong Nature Reserve had 5000 permanent residents in 2009 (Liu et al 2009), and their main source of income has traditionally been livestock grazing and farming (Hull et al 2014;Zhang et al 2017). Although tourism has become a bigger part of the local population's income, the number of livestock in the reserve has been increasing in recent years (Wang et al 2018b;Zhang et al 2018). Many livestock are grazed in the alpine meadow ecosystem in Wolong Nature Reserve, where they compete with blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), goral (Naemorhedus), marmot (Marmota), and other herbivores (Lu et al 2019).…”

“…We used results from a questionnaire survey administered to 202 local farmers on the distribution of livestock in Wolong Nature Reserve (Wang et al 2018b)…”

“…Understanding the impact of livestock on snow leopard habitat is an important consideration for their conservation. There has been extensive research on the effect of livestock on many wildlife species such as the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (Wang et al 2019;Hull et al 2014;Zhang et al 2017;Wei et al 2018), the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) (Wang et al 2018a), and the tiger (Panthera tigers) (Bargali et al 2018;B. B. Li et al 2020).…”