Assessment of the Suitability of Wintering Anatidae Habitats before and after Impoundment in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region

Xiuming Li, Ruimei Cheng, Wenfa Xiao, Ge Sun, Tian Ma, Fuguo Liu, Xiaoyun Liu, Fawen Qian and Kaijun Pan
Additional contact information
Xiuming Li: Key Laboratory of Forest Protection of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Ruimei Cheng: Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, State Forestry Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Wenfa Xiao: Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, State Forestry Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Ge Sun: Key Laboratory of Forest Protection of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Tian Ma: Key Laboratory of Forest Protection of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Fuguo Liu: Experimental Centre of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Xiaoyun Liu: Experimental Centre of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Fawen Qian: Key Laboratory of Forest Protection of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Kaijun Pan: Key Laboratory of Forest Protection of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: In this study, we aimed to understand the distribution of and changes in the habitats suitable for Anatidae wintering in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR), China, and to explore the impact of the impoundment during different impoundment periods. Based on species occurrence data for four dominant species of Anatidae and environmental factors, a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model was used to analyze the suitability of habitats during five impoundment periods. The results show that the main factors affecting Anatidae distribution were temperature and roads before the Three Gorges Project (TGP) and elevation after the TGP. After the TGP, the area of the suitable habitat declined rapidly and then gradually increased with increasing water level. After impoundment, the primary area of increased habitat suitability was the main stream of the Yangtze River from Changshou District to Yunyang County and its tributary in the Kaizhou area. Among the habitats, the central water regions were more suitable than the marginal shoal areas. Anatidae habitats in the TGRR were distributed mainly within the Yangtze River main stream and the surrounding areas before the TGP, and the surrounding areas largely disappeared after the TGP, particularly in Chongqing City and Jiangjin District. In this context, it is challenging to create new protected areas within the habitat suitable for Anatidae in the main stream of the Yangtze River; we propose adding the Anatidae as conservation targets within the existing conservation agencies and implementing a waterbird monitoring program for scientific waterbird conservation and the sustainable development of the reservoir.

Keywords: habitat suitability; Anatidae; three gorges reservoir; MaxEnt model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4743/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4743/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4743-:d:542016

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().