Abstract
Context
China initiated its national parks in 2016 for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. The newly established Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park (NTLNP) is essential for saving endangered large cats, but its adequacy for supporting apex predators and their prey remains largely unassessed.
ObjectivesWe evaluated NTLNP’s effectiveness in providing habitat and connectivity for the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) and sika deer (Cervus nippon). Furthermore, we examined the adequacy of the park’s current zoning and quantified direct anthropogenic disturbances in conservation-critical areas to identify management challenges.
MethodsWe developed a multiscale species distribution model with Bayesian additive regression trees (BART) to simulate habitat distribution for the Amur tiger and sika deer, and employed a circuit theory model to identify potential corridors. Additionally, large-scale monitoring data were used to assess disturbances spatial patterns within core habitat patches and dispersal corridors of tigers.
ResultsOur results found that tiger and sika deer had highly overlapping habitats (> 50%) concentrated along the China-Russia border. The BART model revealed 4 core tiger habitats (3555.61 km2) and 28 core sika deer habitats (3468.41 km2), with 4 tiger corridors and 48 sika deer corridors. The core conservation zones of the park encompassed 81.89% of core tiger habitats and 91.62% of potential tiger corridors, but 58.46% of these habitats and 55.03% of the corridors were affected by ubiquitous presence of humans, free-ranging cattle, and domestic dogs.
ConclusionsThis work highlighted that while NTLNP’s zoning effectively covers tiger habitats and corridors, these areas are heavily impacted by anthropogenic disturbances, posing a significant management challenge. The findings provide important references and tools for designing and managing national parks in China and worldwide.
