Establish an environmentally sustainable Giant Panda National Park in the Qinling Mountains
| Autor: | Yi-ping Chen, Wan-gang Liu, Aaron M. Ellison, Dong Chen, Yan Zhao |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Pollution
Bamboo Qinling panda China Conservation of Natural Resources Environmental Engineering 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences media_common.quotation_subject Parks Recreational Endangered species Environmental pollution 010501 environmental sciences 01 natural sciences Mining Feces Environmental protection biology.animal Metals Heavy Environmental Chemistry Animals Soil Pollutants Waste Management and Disposal 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Ailuropoda melanoleuca media_common biology National park biology.organism_classification Habitat Multivariate Analysis Environmental science Environmental Pollution Ursidae Environmental Monitoring |
| Zdroj: | The Science of the total environment. 668 |
| ISSN: | 1879-1026 |
| Popis: | The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is one of the most endangered animals in the world and is recognized worldwide as a symbol for conservation. The Qinling subspecies of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis) is highly endangered; fewer than 350 individuals still inhabit the Qinling Mountains. Last year, China announced the establishment of the first Giant Panda National Park (GPNP) with a goal of restoring and connecting fragmented habitats; the proposal ignored the environmental pollution caused by economic development in panda habitats. The spatial distribution of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg, Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr, Ni and As) was analyzed in giant panda feces, soil, bamboo, and water in four of GPNP's functional areas at different altitudes and latitudes. Heavy metal pollution decreased with anthropogenic influences, from outside the park through the buffer and into the core area. Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn accumulated from natural sources; As, Hg and Cr were associated with fuel combustion; and Pb and Cd were associated with traffic and agriculture sources. The presence of heavy metals at high altitudes and latitudes in the proposed GPNP is due to emissions from Xi'an and other upwind industrial cities. We conclude that reducing emissions and heavy metal input should be included in the design of the GPNP. Policy interventions should consider functional zones planning, wind direction, reducing mining, and the abandonment of existing roads and farmland within the GPNP to reduce other direct human impacts on the Qinling panda. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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