Old-growth forest is what giant pandas really need

Abstract

Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are an iconic conservation species, but despite significant research effort, do we understand what they really need? Estimating and mapping suitable habitat play a critical role in conservation planning and policy. But if assumptions about ecological needs are wrong, maps with misidentified suitable habitat will misguide conservation action. Here, we use an information-theoretic approach to analyse the largest, landscape-level dataset on panda habitat use to date, and challenge the prevailing wisdom about panda habitat needs. We show that pandas are associated with old-growth forest more than with any ecological variable other than bamboo. Other factors traditionally used in panda habitat models, such as topographic slope, are less important. We suggest that our findings are disparate from previous research in part because our research was conducted over a larger ecological scale than previous research conducted over more circumscribed areas within individual reserves. Thus, extrapolating from habitat studies on small scales to conservation planning on large scales may entail some risk. As the Chinese government is considering the renewal of its logging ban, it should take heed of the panda's dependency on old growth.

Effect of China’s rapid development on its iconic giant panda

“…The vulnerability of giant pandas to the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation may be due primarily to its own biological characteristics. Radio collar data and habitat suitability analyses have shown that the giant panda is an ecological specialist in terms of its preferred bamboo food and old forest habitat [27][28][29]. Unfortunately, such areas often overlap with human activities, such as habitation and farming.…”

Shared resources between giant panda and sympatric wild and domestic mammals

“…The advantage of the giant panda census conducted at regular intervals is that relative (if not absolute) numbers of giant pandas can be tracked at the reserve level (State Forestry Administration, 2006;Zhang et al, 2011). When giant panda numbers decrease between census efforts, one possible explanation is that available habitat or food is limited within the reserve due to competition with sympatric wildlife (Gong et al, 2006;Ran et al, 2003).…”

“…Since giant pandas are constrained to forest with a bamboo understory (Liu et al, 2005;Zhang et al, 2011), we compared the conditional occupancy probabilities of giant panda within bamboo understories: if the occupancy probability of giant panda does not depend on the presence of more abundant species (species A), then W Panda|A (conditional probability of occupancy of giant panda given that Species A is present) and W Panda|Ā (conditional probability of occupancy of giant panda given that Species A is absent) will be statistically equal. We implemented the model in the software WinBUGS accessed through the program RStudio, version 0.98.977 using the package R2WinBUGS (BRugs et al, 2013).…”

“…Giant pandas share distribution with multiple large mammal species whose ranges are broader and often whose local populations are higher in numbers, such as takin (Budorcas taxicolor), Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), and domestic cattle (Bos taurus) (IUCN, 2000). While the habitat requirements of giant panda have been well studied during the past decades (Liu et al, 2005;Wei et al, 1995;Zhang et al, 2011), the degree to which other large mammal impact giant panda remains unclear.…”

Establish a special conservation zone for the captive giant panda

“…Successful reintroductions will require unfragmented and unpolluted habitats, and habitat reconstruction also should be undertaken together with mechanisms to increase the economic well-being of people who will be displaced by the creation of new protected areas. New data also have revealed that old-growth forests are associated strongly with panda populations, perhaps because old-growth trees provide large cavities for birth and weaning of panda cubs (Zhang et al 2011).…”