Influence of Human Activity Intensity on Habitat Quality in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park,China

Due to long-term human activity interference,the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park(HTRNP)of China has experienced ecological problems such as habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss,and with the expanding scope and intensity of human activity impact,the regional ecological security is facing serious challenges.A scientific assessment of the interrelationship between human activity intensity and habitat quality in the HTRNP is a prerequisite for achieving effective management of ecological disturbances caused by human activities and can also provide scientific strategies for the sustainable development of the region.Based on the land use change data in 2000,2010,and 2020,the spatial and temporal variations and the relationship between habitat quality(HQ)and human activity intensity(HAI)in the HTRNP were explored using the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs(InVEST)model.System dynamics and land use simulation models were also combined to conduct multi-scenario simulations of their relationships.The results showed that during 2000–2020,the habitat quality of the HTRNP improved,the intensity of human activities decreased each year,and there was a negative correlation between the two.Second,the system dynamic model could be well coupled with the land use simulation model by combining socio-economic and natural factors.The simulation scenarios of the coupling model showed that the harmonious development(HD)scenario is effective in curbing the increasing trend of human activity intensity and decreasing trend of habitat quality,with a weaker trade-off between the two compared with the baseline development(BD)and investment priority oriented(IPO)scenarios.To maintain the authenticity and integrity of the HTRNP,effective measures such as ecological corridor construction,ecological restoration,and the implementation of ecological compensation policies need to be strengthened.

Terrain or climate factor dominates vegetation resilience?Evidence from three national parks across different climatic zones in China

Vegetation resilience(VR),providing an objective measure of ecosystem health,has received considerable attention,however,there is still limited understanding of whether the dominant factors differ across different climate zones.We took the three national parks(Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park,HTR;Wuyishan National Park,WYS;and Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park,NTL)of China with less human interference as cases,which are distributed in different climatic zones,including tropical,subtropical and temperate monsoon climates,respectively.Then,we employed the probabilistic decay method to explore the spatio-temporal changes in the VR and their natural driving patterns using Geographically Weighted Regression(GWR)model as well.The results revealed that:(1)from 2000 to 2020,the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)of the three national parks fluctuated between 0.800 and 0.960,exhibiting an overall upward trend,with the mean NDVI of NTL(0.923)>HTR(0.899)>WYS(0.823);(2)the positive trend decay time of vegetation exceeded that of negative trend,indicating vegetation gradual recovery of the three national parks since 2012;(3)the VR of HTR was primarily influenced by elevation,aspect,average annual temperature change(AATC),and average annual precipitation change(AAPC);the WYS'VR was mainly affected by elevation,average annual precipitation(AAP),and AAPC;while the terrain factors(elevation and slope)were the main driving factors of VR in NTL;(4)among the main factors influencing the VR changes,the AAPC had the highest proportion in HTR(66.7%),and the AAP occupied the largest area proportion in WYS(80.4%).While in NTL,elevation served as the main driving factor for the VR,encompassing 64.2%of its area.Consequently,our findings indicated that precipitation factors were the main driving force for the VR changes in HTR and WYS national parks,while elevation was the main factors that drove the VR in NTL.Our research has promoted a deeper understanding of the driving mechanism behind the VR.

Exploring impacts of COVID-19 on spatial and temporal patterns of visitors to Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks from social media big data

COVID-19 posed challenges for global tourism management.Changes in visitor temporal and spatial patterns and their associated determinants pre-and peri-pandemic in Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks are analyzed.Data was collected through social media programming and analyzed using spatiotemporal analysis and a geographically weighted regression(GWR)model.Results highlight that COVID-19 significantly changed park visitation patterns.Visitors tended to explore more remote areas peri-pandemic.The GWR model also indicated distance to nearby trails was a significant influence on visitor density.Our results indicate that the pandemic influenced tourism temporal and spatial imbalance.This research presents a novel approach using combined social media big data which can be extended to the field of tourism management,and has important implications to manage visitor patterns and to allocate resources efficiently to satisfy multiple objectives of park management.

Overview of China’s national park system reform process

Having experienced a high economic growth rate,China is entering into a low one as the country needs to carry out policy reforms for better governance.In recent years,the national park system reform has been one of the pilot policies that has attracted great attention from local governments and the public.The central government established corresponding management systems during the institutional restructuring in 2018,and five out of ten pilots were selected due to their good performance on policy reform in 2021.This paper provides an overview of the policy background,a general introduction to the system,and a discussion of policy implementations.Our research suggests that China’s national parks need to improve their laws and regulations and establish an eco-compensation mechanism to encourage residents to participate in conservation and receive increasing benefits through green development.

Characterisation of Human-Wildlife Conflicts around the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

The history of mankind contains so many illustrations of well-classified and violent struggles against various animals over crop production in agricultural fields, attacks on human life or competition in order to have access to certain natural resources. The aim of this study is to characterise the human-wildlife conflicts that occur around the KBNP, especially with regard to primates. Surveys were carried out in 260 households selected using the snowball method. The results showed that human-wildlife conflicts around the KBNP are characterised by the destruction of crops in riparian fields by monkeys, chimpanzees and gorillas, the destruction of houses, physical attacks and zoonoses. Despite the conservation and protection measures for wildlife and local populations put in place by the Park’s managers, conflicts between local populations and the Park’s wild animals are still visible. These conflicts lead to the detention of wild animals by local people roaming in the villages and to poaching on the Park’s boundaries. The weakness of the community management policy on the part of the park managers and the resentment of the indigenous peoples towards the restriction of their access to natural resources are the major constraints on the sustainable management of conflicts between the local populations and the wild animals in the KBNP. The strategies for the sustainable resolution of human-wildlife conflicts around the KBNP must be geared towards and integrated into a community conservation approach.

Evaluating the Impacts of Human Activities on Diversity, Abundance, and Distribution of Large Mammals in Nimule National Park, South Sudan

Globally, human activities have a significant impact on the diversity, abundance, and distribution of large mammals in Protected Areas (PAs). These disturbances increase human pressure on biodiversity and species habitats, highlighting the need for conservation. This study aimed to assess the abundance and distribution of large mammals in different habitat types within Nimule National Park (NNP) and understand the impacts of human activities on them. Data on the abundance and distribution of large mammals and their respective habitat types were collected through line transect surveys. Human activity signs were observed and recorded along the transect lines. To estimate the impacts of human activities on the diversity, abundance, and distribution of large mammal species, as well as to identify any significant differences between them and their habitat types, the study utilized the Kruskal Wallis test, Polynomial multiple regressions, and diversity indices. The findings from the Shannon-Weiner and Simpson indices indicated that large mammal species were more diverse inside the park (H’ = 1.136;D = 0.570) compared to the buffer zone (H’ = 0.413;D = 0.171), with 85% (443 out of 510 samples) recorded within Nimule National Park. The species abundance showed a semi-balanced status (0.58). The diversity results among different habitat types revealed that large mammals were more diverse and highly distributed in both open woodlands (244) and dense woodlands (192), while riverine vegetation had the lowest diversity (8). Statistical tests demonstrated a highly significant difference at a 99% confidence interval (p-value = 0.01) between habitat types and identified species of large mammals. Additionally, the results highlighted the high abundance of Uganda kob (274), baboons (141), and warthog (57) across most habitat types, accounting for at least 75% of their distribution. The most prevalent human activities observed were cattle footprints (27%) and cattle dung (14%). Human footprints and tree cutting combined accounted for 9%, indicating the practice of livestock grazing, poaching, encroachment, and fuelwood collection by local communities. However, these activities did not appear to significantly impact the diversity, abundance, and distribution of large mammals in Nimule National Park. Therefore, it is crucial to foster shared responsibilities and engage relevant stakeholders in the management and conservation of large wildlife species. Regular community awareness programs should be implemented to cultivate a sense of ownership. Moreover, it is recommended that a comprehensive survey be conducted on the population status of all mammal species in Nimule National Park, including its surrounding Buffer Zone. Monitoring the impact of human activities on their behavior and habitats using satellite images should also be carried out at least every five to ten years.

Livelihood vulnerability of indigenous people to climate change around the Kerinci Seblat National Park in Bengkulu,Indonesia

Indigenous people around the Kerinci Seblat National Park(KSNP),Indonesia,have a high dependence on forest resources as their main source of livelihood.This study addressed the vulnerability of Rejang indigenous people around the KSNP to climate change.The popular livelihood vulnerability index(LVI)model was adapted by adding and modifying subcomponents suitable for the study area.Primary data were collected through household surveys in two communities:Embong and Topos.In total,146 samples were selected for this study using stratified random sampling.The results showed that Embong was more vulnerable to climate change than Topos.Embong exhibited a higher level of vulnerability to the effects of socio-demographic profile,social network,health,and natural disasters and climate variability,whereas Topos was more vulnerable to livelihood strategy,food,and water.Furthermore,Embong was more exposed to natural disasters and climate variability than Topos,but it demonstrated higher adaptive capacity and lower sensitivity than Topos.Nevertheless,socio-demographic profile influenced adaptive capacity in both communities.Sensitivity was influenced most by health in Embong,and sensitivity was influenced most by food in Topos.Although the vulnerability levels were not high in the two communities,several subcomponents must be specifically considered.Overall,this study can help the government make informed decisions to enhance adaptive capacity of the KSNP to climate change.

Assessing Human-Wildlife Conflict in the Periphery of Loango National Park in Gabon

Human-Wildlife Conflict in Gabon is a reality occurring in almost all protected areas in the country. These conflicts create real threats both for the survival of wildlife species and of human beings. This study was carried out at the periphery of Loango National Park in Gabon. This area is particular of seeing elephants wandering around villages. Respondents for the study were drawn from a wide range of stakeholders (State administrators, farmers and NGOs). Data was collected through administration of structured questionnaires and interview guide on the;socio-economic activities. Crops produced/destroyed. Animals are involved and economic loss is incurred due to conflicts. Data was analysed using SPSS version 16 and Kobo tool box. For qualitative data chi-square, descriptive statistic and linear regression model were also used. The results of the study showed that the elephants account for (60.1%) of crop destroyed followed by Ungulates (30.4%) and lastly by rodents (0.9%). The economic damage caused by the wildlife to crops valued at 72,084 USD in the zone in 2022. An urgent solution to this conflict is needed because the consequences are visible as well as the illegal repression by communities that have led to poisoning and killing of wildlife in the study area.

Investigation and Analysis of Soundscape Resources in Sanzhualun National Forest Park of Jiangxi Province

The evaluation of landscape resources is the basis of tourism development. The traditional aesthetic value assessment of forest landscape mainly focuses on the visual perception, but the auditory perception is usually ignored. In fact, the esthetics artistic conception is not complete without each sense. With a case study on the National Forestry Park of Mount Sanzhualun in Jiangxi Province, the investigation and analysis of the soundscape resources are made in this research. The forest soundscape resources are classified into six types, mainly including water soundscape, rain soundscape, birds' soundscape, leaf soundscape, insects' soundscape and wind soundscape. Furthermore, the concept, content and rule of forest soundscape resources are defined so as to provide significant references for the more advantageous development, utilization and management of the forest landscape resources.

Investigation of Macrofungi in Wula Mountain National Forest Park at Yinshan Mountains

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the fungi in Wula Mountain National Forest Park. [Method] More than 180 fungal specimens were collected from Wula Mountain National Forest Park from 2009 to 2012 for primarily studying the fungal species diversity. [Results] According to the classification system presented by Ainsworth et al. and with reference to the China catalogue of Macrofungi in species diversity catalogue of Fungi at Wula Mountain National Forest Park was written, involving in 80 species belonging to 43 genera, 22 families, 5 orders and 2 classes in the Basidiomycotina, and 6 species belonging to 2 genera, 2 families, 2 orders and2 classes in Ascomycotina, totally from 86 species, 45 genera, 7 orders, 24 families and 2 subdivisions. Among them, 49 species were edible and 22 species were medicinal, and 18 species were both edible and medicinal, and 7 species were poisonous, and 32 species were wood-rotting, and 5 species were mycorrhizal fungi,and 3 species were newly-recorded ones in Inner Mongolia. [Conclusion] There are still some specimens that have not been identified yet because of lack of literature,thus requiring further study for supplement.

The ideal landscape and its ecological planning approach in Mount Lushan National Park,China

This paper described the main four basic models of ideal landscape in the Mount Lushan National Park as Kunlunshan model, Xumishan model, Peach flower land model, Christian model. Five typical places in Mount Lushan with the ideal landscape characteristics like the East Grove Temple, White Deer Cave Academy, Simplicity and Tranquility Monastery, Lushan Valley, and Villa-cluster of the East Valley were analyzed, and the integration of the basic models for each place was discussed to make the realistic landscape conform to the ideal needs. Moreover, the discussions also involved the characteristics of ideal landscape that are featured in resource, culture, structure, function, process, scale and region. In conclusion, ideal landscape in the Mount Lushan National Park was the product of the interaction between human and nature. Mount Lushan inherits the essence of Chinese traditional culture with a history of more than 1000 years; and it also absorbs the manna of the Western culture as well as the exchanges between nature and humanities together with the conflict and adaptation among different cultures. The natural landscape could be satisfied with the survival demand and cultural taste of mankind by the way of ecological planning.

Tourism Image Plan for Wunvfeng National Forest Park

After the introduction of tourist resources in Wunvfeng National Forest Park, the paper had planed its overall image from the perspectives of concept design, visual identity, behavioral norms and audio identity. The slogan of Wunvfeng National Forest Park had been identified as "tour of nature and mythology-Wunvfeng", and the park's emblem, symbolic mascots, spokesman of tourism image and tourist souvenirs had been set, so as to better display tourist advantages of Wunvfeng National Forest Park and create more economic and social benefits.

A Pragmatic Analysis of Public Signs in Chinese-English Translation——Based on the Example of Shaoguan National Forest Park

With the rapid development of economy and close international exchanges, the English translation of public signs is in-creasingly important and cannot be ignored. This paper takes Shaoguan National Forest Park as an example to analyze its publicsigns translation and points out some pragmatic failures from two aspects:pragmatic language failures and social pragmatic failures.Also, the paper puts forward some suggestions based on the translation error analysis.

Networks of hiking tourist trails in the Krkono?e(Czech Republic) and Peneda-Gerês(Portugal) national parks-comparative analysis

Tourist trails as a linear form of tourist infrastructure fulfill various functions(i.e. recreational, ecological, economic, social, ensuring safety). They are especially important in national parks, where in selected areas tourist penetration is allowed only along specially designed, official routes. A well-planned layout of tourist trails with appropriate facilities can help to limit the negative consequences of tourist pressure on protected natural areas. The aim of the article is a comparison of offers for active tourists in two mountain national parks(the Krkono?e National Park in the Czech Republic and the Peneda-Gerês National Park in Portugal), taking into consideration the marked hiking trails – the most frequently used type of tourist trails. As a result the level of area coverage by the networks of hiking trails was assessed, as well as their adequateness towards the needs of tourists. The descriptive analysis was based on author's personal observations. In the examination of hiking trails as part of a system, some elements of the graph theory were used, especially coefficients for topologic analysis of spatial structure. This method enables simplification of a network, comparison of various areas and making some assumptions concerning tourist infrastructure, which is a crucial factor while analyzing trails from a tourists' point of view. In both analyzed national parks the relief is quite similar, as well as their locations near national borders, what justifies the choice of the areas scrutinized in the paper. What differ them are patterns of tourism development and the current ways of undertaking active tourism. Not similarities but the two latter factors resulted in a distinct character of the two compared networks of trails and facilities connected with them. The system of hiking trails and tourist infrastructure seem better developed in the Krkono?e National Park, what can be explained by historical and social conditions, especially the adopted model of hiking. In the article some disadvantages of tourist infrastructure in both protected areas were presented, as well as some suggestions in terms of its development, resulting from the analysis of networks of hiking trails.

Vegetation change as related to terrain factors at two glacier forefronts, Glacier National Park, Montana, U.S.A.

Glacier recession is a globally occurring trend. Although a rich body of work has documented glacial response to climate warming, few studies have assessed vegetation cover change in recently deglaciated areas, especially using geospatial technologies. Here, vegetation change at two glacier forefronts in Glacier National Park, Montana, U.S.A.was quantified through remote sensing analysis,fieldwork validation, and statistical modeling.Specifically, we assessed the spatial and temporal patterns of landcover change at the two glacier forefronts in Glacier National Park and determined the role of selected biophysical terrain factors(elevation, slope, aspect, solar radiation, flow accumulation, topographic wetness index, and surficial geology) on vegetation change(from nonvegetated to vegetated cover) at the deglaciated areas.Landsat imagery of the study locations in 1991, 2003,and 2015 were classified and validated using visual interpretation. Model results revealed geographic differences in biophysical correlates of vegetation change between the study areas, suggesting that terrain variation is a key factor affecting spatialtemporal patterns of vegetation change. At Jackson Glacier forefront, increases in vegetation over some portion or all of the study period were negatively associated with elevation, slope angle, and consolidated bedrock. At Grinnell Glacier forefront,increases in vegetation associated negatively with elevation and positively with solar radiation.Integrated geospatial and field approaches to the study of vegetation change in recently deglaciated terrain are recommended to understand and monitor processes and patterns of ongoing habitat change in rapidly changing mountain environments.

Spatial distribution pattern in mammal and bird richness and their relationship with ecosystem services in Sanjiangyuan National Park, China

Species diversity exhibit a close relationship with ecosystem services, and making clear the relationship can help us understand the service value and functional mechanism of ecosystems and take measures to promote human well-being. Here, we used species survey data and multi-source habitat factors to simulate the spatial distribution of species richness and four types of ecosystem services(water production, net primary productivity, carbon storage, and habitat quality) in Sanjiangyuan National Park located in Qinghai Province, China. We also analyzed the spatial distribution pattern and explored the spatial relationship between species richness and ecosystem services through Geo Detector analyses. We found that high species richness in Sanjiangyuan National Park was shown to be mainly distributed in areas with high vegetation growth on both sides of rivers. The effect of climate on the spatial distribution of species richness in the park is the highest among all the selected environmental variables. For the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem services, the relative correlation strength of single ecosystem service varied among the three main ecosystems(grassland, meadow, and wetland) and all relations are positive.

Tourist Behaviors in Wetland Park:A Preliminary Study in Xixi National Wetland Park,Hangzhou,China

Public education as well as tourism and leisure are the two important functions of national wetland park, and tourist behaviors act as the guiding factor in the national wetland park construction and management.As the first national wetland park in China, Xixi National Wetland Park, located in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, will give constructive instructions to the construction and management of other wetland parks and ecotourism resorts.This paper analyzed the tourist behaviors in Xixi National Wetland Park.By the observation, in-depth interview and questionnaire, the results show that tourists in wetland parks are different from those in the other common destinations, and they are also different from those strict eco-tourists.In fact, the tourists in wetland park have unique characteristics, such as the intense perception to the functions of wetland ecosystem and the environment impact behaviors.Those tourists are preferred to natural landscapes in their motivations and expectations.Wetland landscapes are the main image to those tourists in the Xixi National Wetland Park.Tourist expectation, experience and satisfaction are all critical factors for the success of the planning and management in national wetland parks.Based on the results, some measures for the sustainable development of wetland parks, including to optimize wetland theme landscape and tourism products, to improve tourist facilities and services, to enhance quality of visitor experiences, and to implement total quality management based on tourist characteristics, are given to national wetland park ecotourism.

Ethnobotanical study of forage/fodder plant species in and around the semi-arid Awash National Park, Ethiopia

We undertook ethnobotanical study of forage/fodder plant species used by the Afar and Oromo （Kereyu and lttu） Nations in and around the semi=arid Awash National Park （ANP）, Ethiopia. The study aimed at investigating and documenting indigenous knowledge （IK） on forage/fodder plant species and threats to their survival. Ninety-six in= formants between 20 and 80 years old were selected using prior informa- tion. Data were collected using semi-structured interview, guided field wail discussion and field observation. Preference ranking, Jaccard＇s coefficient of similarity and priority ranking were used for data analysis. One hundred twenty-six forage/fodder species of 90 genera and 43 fami- lies were collected in the study area. More than 88% of the species were reported with their vernacular names, where 68% were reported by the Afar Nation and 70% by the Oromo Nation. Family Poaceae was repre- sented by 25 species （20%）, followed by Fabaceae 18 （14%）. Preference ranking for the most preferred forage grasses as perceived by key informants revealed that Chrysopogon plumulosus was the most important forage/fodder species. Overgrazing was the major threat in the study area, scoring 22%.

FUZZY SYNTHETIC EVALUATION ON RESIDENT'S PERCEPTIONS OF TOURISM IMPACTS——Case of Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan Province, China

Tourism can have both positive and negative outcomes for residents in tourism destinations, It is a good method to analyze the status of tourism impact by means of investigating residents＇ perceptions of it. Various methods have been used in previous authoritative studies. However, owing to inherent imprecision, difficulties always exist in some conventional methodologies when describing the interpretation of linguistic or measured uncertainties for real-world randoln phenomena. The purpose of this research is to present the fuzzy synthetic evaluation method to investigate residents＇ perceptions of tourisln impacts. At first, basic attributes and a hierarchical framework of tourism impacts are defined and formed. Secondly, the weighted vectors are determined according to the knowledge and experience of experts. Thirdly, the weighted evaluation matrices are aggregated to get the fuzzy sets of tourism impacts. In the last stage, the final fuzzy sets are defuzzified to get the rank of the residents＇ perceptions of tourism impacts. A case study in Jiuzhaigou National Park of China is provided to demonstrate the application of this method.

Influence of Tourists′ Environmental Tropisms on Their Attitudes to Tourism and Nature Conservation in Natural Tourist Destinations: A Case Study of Jiuzhaigou National Park in China

People′s environmental tropism has an effect on their understanding of tourism-nature relationship,and also influences their attitudes to natural resources utilization and environmental protection.Taking Jiuzhaigou National Park of China as a study case,the authors conducted some quantitative analyses with the tools of SPSS 16.0 and LISREL 8.7,to explore the influence of tourists′ environmental tropism on their attitudes to tourism and nature conservation in the natural tourist destination.Three hypotheses and the theoretic model of influences of tourists′ environmental tropism on their attitudes to tourism and nature conservation have been tested and accepted based on the Structural Equation Model analysis on survey data collected in Jiuzhaigou National Park of China.Some conclusions were drawn as follows: 1) tourists′ human-prioritized concept influences their cognition to tourism-nature relationship.This concept has a positive influence on their supportive attitudes to tourism,but a negative influence on their attitudes to nature conservation;2) tourists′ human-nature coordination concept has a positive influence on their supportive attitudes to both tourism and nature conservation,especially to the latter.This paper generally proves that human′s environmental tropism does have an influence on their attitudes to tourism and nature conservation in natural tourist destinations.