Spatiotemporal variations of ecosystem services and driving factors in the Tianchi Bogda Peak Natural Reserve of Xinjiang,China

Nature reserves play a significant role in providing ecosystem services and are key sites for biodiversity conservation.The Tianchi Bogda Peak Natural Reserve(TBPNR),located in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China,is an important ecological barrier area in the temperate arid zone.The evaluation of its important ecosystem services is of great significance to improve the management level and ecological protection efficiency of the reserve.In the present study,we assessed the spatiotemporal variations of four ecosystem services(including net primary productivity(NPP),water yield,soil conservation,and habitat quality)in the TBPNR from 2000 to 2020 based on the environmental and social data using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs(InVEST)model.In addition,the coldspot and hotspot areas of ecosystem services were identified by hotspot analysis,and the trade-off and synergistic relationships between ecosystem services were analyzed using factor analysis in a geographic detector.During the study period,NPP and soil conservation values in the reserve increased by 48.20%and 25.56%,respectively;conversely,water yield decreased by 16.56%,and there was no significant change in habitat quality.Spatially,both NPP and habitat quality values were higher in the northern part and lower in the southern part,whereas water yield showed an opposite trend.Correlation analysis revealed that NPP showed a synergistic relationship with habitat quality and soil conservation,and exhibited a trade-off relationship with water yield.Water yield and habitat quality also had a trade-off relationship.NPP and habitat quality were affected by annual average temperature and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI),respectively,while water yield and soil conservation were more affected by digital elevation model(DEM).Therefore,attention should be paid to the spatial distribution and dynamics of trade-off and synergistic relationships between ecosystem services in future ecological management.The findings of the present study provide a reference that could facilitate the sustainable utilization of ecosystem services in the typical fragile areas of Northwest China.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Ecological Quality in Alpine Freshwater Lake Nature Reserves in the Past 20 Years

The Caohai Nature Reserve is one of the three major plateau freshwater lakes in China.Since the 1950s,human activities such as land reclamation and population relocation have greatly damaged Caohai.A rapid evaluation of the spatiotemporal evolution trend of the ecological quality of the Caohai Nature Reserve is significant for the maintenance and construction of the ecosystem in this area.The research is based on the Google Earth Engine(GEE)remote sensing cloud computing platform.Landsat TM/OLI images from May to October in five time periods:2000-2002,2004-2006,2009-2011,2014-2016,and 2019-2021 were obtained to reconstruct the optimal cloud image set by averaging the images in each time period.By constructing four ecological indicators:Greenness(NDVI),Wetness(Wet),Hotness(LST),and Dryness(NDBSI),and using Principal Component Analysis(PCA)method to obtain the Remote Sensing Ecological Index(RSEI)for the corresponding years,the spatiotemporal variation of ecological quality in the Caohai Nature Reserve over 20 years was analyzed.The results indicate:①the mean value of RSEI increased from 0.460 in 2000-2002 to 0.772 in 2019-2021,a 67.83%increase,indicating a significant improvement in the ecological quality of the reserve over the 20 years;②from the perspective of functional zoning of the Caohai Nature Reserve,the ecological quality of the core area showed a degrading trend,while the ecological quality of the buffer zone and experimental zone significantly improved;③with the implementation of ecological restoration projects,the ecological quality of the reserve gradually recovered and improved from 2014 to 2021.The trend of RSEI value changes is well correlated with human interventions,indicating that the PCA-based RSEI model can be effectively used for ecological quality assessment in lake areas.

From landslide characterization to nature reserve management:The“Scialimata Grande di Torre Alfina”landslide Geosite(Central Apennines,Italy)

Italy is characterized by widespread geomorphological instability,among which landslides leave impressive marks on the landscape.Nevertheless,landslide bodies may represent key sites for thematic and educational itineraries,especially in protected areas,where their management becomes an important issue.Our study focuses on the"Monte Rufeno Nature Reserve"(Central Apennines,Italy),where iconic landslides are present.Here,the"Scialimata Grande di Torre Alfina"landslide(SGTA)is listed in the regional Geosite database.This work aims to propose a multiscale procedure for landslide analysis,in terms of both hazard sources but also educational and geoheritage enhancement opportunities in natural reserves.After performing a Landslide Susceptibility conditional Analysis(LSA)for the reserve territory,attention was focused on the SGTA,to define properly its features and morphodynamics.A multi-disciplinary approach was adopted,by applying both remote sensing(UAV structure from motion,Photointerpretation)and field survey(geomorphological and GPS monitoring).From the LSA,based on drainage density,curvature,and slope triggering factors,the road and trail susceptibility maps were derived,as base tools for future risk assessments and trail paths management within the reserve.At the SGTA scale,the monitoring showed a displacement of up to 23 m during the time interval between 2015 and 2018.The landslide dynamics seem to be driven by alternating dry and extremely wet periods;moreover,leaks from the aqueduct in the detachment area and piping effects through clays may have also decreased the substrate cohesion.The SGTA complex influence on the Paglia River valley geometry was also hypothesized,underlining the action of landslide through different spatial scales(on-site and off-site)and on different environment features(sediment connectivity,hydrology).Finally,the SGTA appears highly representative of the geomorphic dynamics within the Nature Reserve(i.e.,scientific value)and it could be classified as an active geosite.Since the site was featured by a tourist trail,adequate management strategies must be adopted,considering the educational value and safety issues.

Determination of Main Design Indicators of Patrol Road in Nature Reserves

In principle,nature reserves are managed and controlled according to the core area and the general control area.At present,there is no relevant design specification for the design system of patrol road in various protected areas.This paper analyzed the factors to be considered in determining the grade,horizontal and vertical design indicators,and cross section indicators of the patrol road in the protected area,and came up with the corresponding design indicators and parameters,so as to provide a certain reference for the subsequent patrol road design.

Non-use value assessment for wetland ecosystem service of Hongxing National Nature Reserve in northeast China

By the contingent value method, we studied the non-use value of wetland ecosystem service of Hongxing National Nature Reserve （HNNR） in Heilongjiang Pro- vince, northeast China. The proportion of respondents willing to pay （WTP） for protection of HNNR was 63 %. The WTP ratio was affected by geographical area, contact nature, personal preferences, and familiar degree of the respondents. The WTP value was affected by age, education level and career of the respondents. The mainly reasons for people rejecting to pay for protecting HNNR were ＂I am not familiar to HNNR＂ and ＂I had no capacity for additional spending because of low income＂. Weighted average individual WTP value was CNY 59.26 Yuan ind.^-1 year^-1 for all the respondents with WTP. The total non-use ecosystem service value of HNNR was CNY 1430 million Yuan in 2013. The heritage value was highest followed by existence value and option value. From the high ecosystem service value in HNNR, it is very important to construct nature reserve for protecting natural ecosystems and human sustainable use of natural resources.

Spatial variations of Pb in the vertical zone of the soil-plant system in the Changbai Mountain National Nature Reserve

The characteristics of vertical and horizontal variations of lead element(Pb) in soil plant system of vertical zone in Changbai Mountain National Nature Reserve(CNNR) were studied. The results showed that Pb concentrations in soils of vertical zone are all above 25 mg/kg, and the average Pb concentration of each soil zone negatively correlates its degree of variation, i.e. brown coniferous forest soil zone has the lowest average Pb concentration of four soil zones, and the highest horizontal variation; however, mountain soddy forest soil has the highest average Pb concentration, and the lowest horizontal variation; the average concentration of plant Pb of each plant zone is lower than the worldwide average level of Pb in plant(Clarke), respectively, and plant Pb content order is consistent with soil Pb content order, but their horizontal variations are different from those in soil zones, the variation of mountain tundra forest zone is highest, but Betula ermanii forest zone the lowest. Vertical variation of plant Pb is obviously higher than that in soils with variation coefficient of 89.76%; the enrichment capability of plant for Pb is depended on the plant types and the different organs of plant; parent material and parent rock, pH values, soil organic matter and soil particle fraction etc. are the main factors influencing variations of Pb content in soil plant system of vertical zone in CNNR.

Developing phase of China's system of nature reserves in perspective

Up until 2009, 2541 nature reserves had been established in China. However, the process of developing this system of nature reserves was not quite smooth. Various kinds of information related to nature reserves, such as annual growth, the type of nature reserves established, motives behind building a nature reserve, legal instructions and the constitution of government sectors, were collected and analyzed in order to highlight the characteristics of the development of our nature reserve system. As a result, we identify three phases and their characteristics, i.e., the initial phase from 1956 to 1978, the establishment phase from 1979 to 1996 and the management standardization phase from 1997 to 2009, could be clearly identified. It is suggested that since the establishment of this comprehensive structural framework in China, the system should be entering a new developing phase. We recommend that more attentions should be paid on how to guarantee effective management and how nature reserves are able to maintain their value and fulfill their objectives in the future.

Measurement System of Landscape Fragmentation in National Nature Reserves:A Case Study of Dinghu Mountain National Nature Reserve,Guangdong Province

With the advancement of industrialization and urbanization,the natural landscape has been destroyed to varying degrees,presenting the trend of landscape fragmentation and ecosystem degradation.Taking Dinghu Mountain National Nature Reserve as an example,a three-dimension measurement system of separation degree,fractal dimension and interference intensity for landscape fragmentation is established and verified by collecting survey data through questionnaires.The research results will provide a theoretical reference for landscape conservation and sustainable development of national nature reserves.

Assessment of habitat suitability of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in Qomolangma National Nature Reserve based on MaxEnt modeling

Habitat evaluation constitutes an important and fundamental step in the management of wildlife populations and conservation policy planning. Geographic information system （GIS） and species presence data provide the means by which such evaluation can be done. Maximum Entropy （MaxEnt） is widely used in habitat suitability modeling due to its power of accuracy and additional descriptive properties To survey snow leopard populations in Qomolangma （Mt. Everest） National Nature Reserve （QNNR）, Xizang （Tibet）, China, we pooled 127 pugmarks, 415 scrape marks, and 127 non-invasive identifications of the animal along line transects and recorded 87 occurrences through camera traps from 2014-2017. We adopted the MaxEnt model to generate a map highlighting the extent of suitable snow leopard habitat in QNNR. Results showed that the accuracy of the MaxEnt model was excellent （mean AUC=0.921）. Precipitation in the driest quarter, ruggedness, elevation, maximum temperature of the warmest month, and annual mean temperature were the main environmental factors influencing habitat suitability for snow leopards, with contribution rates of 20.0%, 14.4%, 13.3%, 8.7%, and 8.2% respectively The suitable habitat area extended for 7 001.93 km^2, representing 22.72% of the whole reserve. The regions bordering Nepal were the main suitable snow leopard habitats and consisted of three separate habitat patches Our findings revealed that precipitation, temperature conditions, ruggedness, and elevations of around 4 000 m a.s.I, influenced snow leopard preferences at the landscape level in QNNR. We advocate further research and cooperation with Nepal to evaluate habitat connectivity and to explore possible proxies of population isolation among these patches. Furthermore, evaluation of subdivisions within the protection zones of QNNR is necessary to improve conservation strategies and enhance protection.

Nest-site selection pattern of Grus japonensis in Zhalong Nature Reserve of northeast China

Nest-site selection patterns of Red-crowned cranes（Grus japonensis） and the effects of environmental variables were studied during the years of 2002-2008 in Zhalong Nature Reserve,Qiqihar city,northeast China.The nest-site selection pattern of Red-crowned cranes included two orders and three choices：the choice of nest-site habitat type within the macro-habitat order,nest zone selection and nest-site micro-habitat selection within the micro-habitat order.Various habitats（such as Carex swamps and reed fire districts） can be selected as the nest sites for Red-crowned cranes,of which reed swamps（93.15%） are given a preference.Factor Analysis reveals that the micro-habitat selection are affected by four main factors：fire,security（concealment /disturbance）,incubation（conditions,nest-material）,and food.Further analysis reveals that Red-crowned cranes have certain adaptability to the changes of nesting habitat quality in the Zhalong wetlands.In conclusion,fire,reeds,and water were the most important variables for nest-site habitat selection of Red-crowned Cranes in Zhalong Nature Reserve.

Vegetation change in the Mt. Qomolangma Nature Reserve from 1981 to 2001

Based on the NOAA AVHRR-NDVI data from 1981 to 2001, the digitalized China Vegetation Map （1：1,000,000）, DEM, temperature and precipitation data, and field investigation, the spatial patterns and vertical characteristics of natural vegetation changes and their influencing factors in the Mt. Qomolangma Nature Reserve have been studied. The results show that： （1） There is remarkable spatial difference of natural vegetation changes in the Mt. Qomolangma Nature Reserve and stability is the most common status. There are 5.04% of the whole area being seriously degraded, 13.19% slightly degraded, 26.39% slightly improved, 0.97% significantly improved and 54.41% keeping stable. The seriously and slightly degraded areas, which mostly lie in the south of the reserve, are along the national boundaries. The areas of improved vegetation lie in the north of the reserve and the south side of the Yarlung Zangbo River. The stable areas lie between the improved and degraded areas. Degradation decreases with elevation. （2） Degeneration in the Mt. Qomolangma Nature Reserve mostly affects shrubs, needle-leaved forests and mixed forests. （3） The temperature change affects the natural vegetation changes spatially while the integration of temperature changes, slopes and aspects affects the natural vegetation change along the altitude gradients. （4） It is the overuse of resources that leads to the vegetation degeneration in some parts of the Mt. Qomolangma Nature Reserve.

Rhizosphere and bulk soil enzyme activities in a Nothotsuga longibracteata forest in the Tianbaoyan National Nature Reserve,Fujian Province,China

The rhizosphere, distinct from bulk soil, is defined as the volume of soil around living roots and influenced by root activities. We investigated protease, invertase, cellulase, urease, and acid phosphatase activities in rhizosphere and bulk soils of six Nothotsuga longibracteata forest communities within Tianbaoyan National Nature Reserve, including N. longibracteata ＋ either Phyllostachys pubescens, Schima superba, Rhododendron simiarum, Cunninghamia lanceolata, or Cyclobalanopsis glauca, and N. longibracteata pure forest. Rhizosphere soils possessed higher protease, invertase, cellulase, urease, and acid phosphatase activities than bulk soils. The highest invertase, urease, and acid phosphatase activities were observed in rhizosphere samples of N. longibracteata ＋ S. superba. Protease was highest in the N. longibracteata ＋ R. simiarum rhizosphere, while cellulase was highest in the pure N. longibracteata forest rhizosphere. All samples exhibited obvious rhizosphere effects on enzyme activities with a significant linear correlation between acid phosphatase and cellulase activities （p 〈 0.05） in rhizosphere soils and between protease and acid phosphatase activities （p 〈 0.05） in bulk soils. A principal component analysis, correlating 13 soil chemical properties indices relevant to enzyme activities, showed that protease, invertase, acid phosphatase, total N, and cellulase were the most important variables impacting rhizosphere soil quality.

Management Philosophy and Practices of Habitat Conservation for Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China

Starting from the pressure on habitat of Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve broughtabout by traveling activity, this paper puts forward such philosophy of community co-management ofconservation-based tourism development for Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve. According to this philosophy,emphasis is laid on the analysis of the mission of habitat protection, functional division, habitatmaintenance, community construction, scientific study and management organization system. The studyshows that the close relation and significance of rights and interests shared between nature reserveand residents in community, as well as the value of community co-management philosophy ofconservation-based tourism development in sustainable management of nature reserve, have set anexemplary example for other nature reserves.

Patterns of human-wildlife conflict and compensation practices around Daxueshan Nature Reserve, China

Understanding the spatial patterns of human-wildlife conflict is essential to inform management decisions to encourage coexistence, but it is constrained by the lack of spatially-explicit data. We collected spatially-implicit data of human-wildlife conflicts from 2009-2015 around Daxueshan Nature Reserve, Yunnan, China, and investigated the patterns and drivers of these conflicts. A questionnaire was also designed to capture local resident attitudes toward insurance-based compensation for the losses caused by targeted wildlife. We found that the Asiatic black bear （Ursus thibetanus） was the most conflict-prone animal around the reserve, followed by the rhesus macaque （Macaca mulatta） and Southeast Asian sambar （Cervus equinus）. Conflicts were unevenly distributed among seasons, villages, and communities, with several grids identified as conflict hotspots. Poisson models revealed that human-bear conflicts were negatively related to distance to the reserve and proportion of forest, but positively correlated to the proportion of cropland. Binomial models showed that communities affected by crop depredation were positively correlated with the proportion of cropland and negatively correlated with distance to the reserve, whereas communities affected by livestock depredation were negatively correlated with the proportion of cropland. The insurance-based scheme has compensated over 90% of losses, to the satisfaction of 90.6% of respondents. Our results suggest that human-bear conflict could be potentially reduced by eliminating food crops near the reserve boundary and livestock grazing at conflict hotspots.In addition, the insurance-based scheme could be replicated at a broader scale with improvement in loss assessment.

Nest site selection of white-naped crane(Grus vipio) at Zhalong National Nature Reserve, Heilongjiang, China

White-naped crane （Grus vipio） is a globally threatened spe- cies. It is very important to analyze its nest site selection in circum- stances where there are multiple disturbances, and also helpful to accu- mulate valuable information about this threatened species and supply scientific suggestions for conservation and management. We studied nest site selection and the effects of environmental variables on nesting habits of white-naped crane at Zhalong National Nature Reserve, Qiqihar City, Heilongiiang, China, during March-May of 2002-2008. White-naped crane responded and adapted to changes in the quality of the spatial environments of landscape and microhabitat under multiple environ- mental disturbances. Nest site selection included two scales and two choices, namely the choice of nest site habitat type within the macro-habitat scale and nest site micro-habitat selection within the mi- cro-habitat scale. Nest sites were recorded only in reed marshes. The choice of nest site micro-habitat included three basic elements and six factors, namely incubation element （nest parameters factor, incubation temperature factor and incubation humidity factor）, safety element （pro- tection factor and concealment factor）, and food element （water factor）. Water, remnant reed clusters, and fire were major resource management challenges during the breeding period for the white-naped crane in this Reserve.

Present conditions and prospects of the researches on nature reserves in China

The construction of nature reserves in China is reviewed in this paper, mainly including the number, type, administration and distribution of nature reserves, the progress in research on biodiversity, evaluation, management, sustainable development of nature reserves in China is summarized briefly, and some development tendencies of research on nature reserves are put forward.

Vegetation patterns and nature reserve construction in an extremely-arid desert in Anxi, NW China's Gansu Province

Anxi County is located in the northwestern part of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province and has the sole national level nature reserve of extremely arid desert in China. Phytosociological methods (Braun Blanquet, 1964) are used to classify plant community types in this area. Eleven are distinguished, including six of deserts, four of oases and one transitional type between deserts and oases. Direct gradient analysis(DCA) is employed to correlate the distribution of plant communities to physiogeographic conditions. This study makes clear that water is the most important ecological factor for the distribution of plant species and communities in this area. The effects of water have been demonstrated in different ways. A vegetation gradient from lower altitude to higher altitude in the southern part of the reserve is driven by a precipitation gradient. The effects of the depth of ground water table contribute to the differentiation of vegetation from desert to oasis in the flat area. In a finer scale, the washed gullies have obviously higher species richness and also higher vegetation cover than the surround gobi surfaces, possibly caused by the effects of floods. The vegetation patterns demonstrate that the area of Anxi County is a complete landscape unit. The range of the current nature reserve is not large enough for the purpose of conserving the unique biodiversity in this area.

Stability of Land-use/Land-cover in National Nature Reserves of Jilin Province, China

National nature reserves are an important part of classification management on ecological protection in China. Taking the national nature reserves of Jilin Province as examples, this paper introduced the stability index by referring to the intensity model of landuse and land-cover change(LUCC), and analyzed the overall stability of land-use and land-cover(LULC) in the study area from the time interval level and land category level. The stability of LULC in different types of nature reserves was tracked and identified by extracting land-use change trajectory, and the land-use change trajectory was divided into three types: stable type, sub-stable type and unstable type. The impact of LUCC on regional ecosystem services was studied by using hotspot analysis and gravity center analysis. The results showed that: 1) The LULC in the study area was stable on the whole, and the proportion of stable land area reached 86.08%. The intensity of LUCC showed an increasing trend in recent 20 years, and the conversion of cultivated land and construction land was active in continuous time interval. 2) The stability of LULC in forest ecological reserves and wildlife reserves in the eastern part of Jilin Province was the highest, while that in inland wetland reserves and geological relic reserves in the central and western part of Jilin Province was lower.3) The LUCC in national nature reserves not only changed the value of its own ecosystem service function, but also affected the ecosystem service function of the whole region. The combination of intensity analysis and land-use change trajectory was used to identify the characteristics of stability of LULC in nature reserves, which was conducive to deeply understand the process of LUCC in national nature reserves and provided reasonable suggestions for regional ecological protection.

Study on the Current Situation and Protection Countermeasures of Wild Plant Resources in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve

[Objective] The aim was to study the current situation and protection countermeasures of wild plant resources in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve. [Method] The current situation of wild plant resources in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve was researched by means of route survey, sample plot survey and literature survey, and then the main impact factors of wild plant resources were analyzed by using participatory rural appraisal and problem tree analysis, finally protection countermeasures were put forward according to current situation and main impact factors. [Result] There were 2 779 species of vascular plants belonging to 214 families and 1 012 genera (including subfamilies and varieties) in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, among them, there existed 261 species of pteridophyte belonging to 41 families and 91 genera, 14 species of gymnosperm belonging to 6 families and 6 genera, and 2 504 species of angiosperm belonging to 167 families and 915 genera. Wild plant resources in reserve were mainly affected by planting under forest, habitat fragmentation, cutting trees, collection and utilization of no-timber products, development of animal husbandry, insufficient recognition of community residents to reserve management establishment and lots of floating population. In the future, wild plant resources in reserve could be protected through strengthening propaganda, education and management, enforcing the law strictly and other countermeasures. [Conclusion] The study could provide theoretical foundation for the protection of wild plant resources in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve.

The spatial relationship between salt marsh vegetation patterns,soil elevation and tidal channels using remote sensing at Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve, China

The analysis of vegetation-environment relationships has always been a study hotspot in ecology. A number of biotic, hydrologic and edaphic factors have great influence on the distribution of macrophytes within salt marsh.Since the exotic species Spartina alterniflora（S. alterniflora） was introduced in 1995, a rapid expansion has occurred at Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve（CDNR） in the Changjiang（Yangtze） River Estuary, China.Several important vegetation-environment factors including soil elevation, tidal channels density（TCD）,vegetation classification and fractional vegetation cover（FVC） were extracted by remote sensing method combined with field measurement. To ignore the details in interaction between biological and physical process,the relationship between them was discussed at a large scale of the whole saltmarsh. The results showed that Scirpus mariqueter（S. mariqueter） can endure the greatest elevation variance with 0.33 m throughout the marsh in CDNR. But it is dominant in the area less than 2.5 m with the occurrence frequency reaching 98%. S. alterniflora has usually been found on the most elevated soils higher than 3.5 m but has a narrow spatial distribution. The rapid decrease of S. mariqueter can be explained by stronger competitive capacity of S. alterniflora on the high tidal flat. FVC increases with elevation which shows significant correlation with elevation（r=0.30, p〈0.001）. But the frequency distribution of FVC indicates that vegetation is not well developed on both elevated banks near tidal channels from the whole scale mainly due to tidal channel lateral swing and human activities. The significant negative correlation（r=–0.20, p〈0.001） was found between FVC and TCD, which shows vegetation is restricted to grow in higher TCD area corresponding to lower elevation mainly occupied by S. mariqueter communities. The maximum occurrence frequency of this species reaches to 97% at the salt marsh with TCD more than 8 m/m2.