Habitat evaluation of wild Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) and conservation priority setting in north-eastern China

The Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is one of the world s most endangered species Recently habitat fragmentation food scarcity and human hunting have drastically reduced the population size and distribution areas of Amur tigers in the wild leaving them on the verge of extinction Presently they are only found in the north-eastern part of China In this study we developed a reference framework using methods and technologies of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) remote sensing (RS) geographic information system (GIS) GAP analysis and Natural Break (Jenks) classification to evaluate the habitat and to set the conservation priorities for Amur tigers in eastern areas of Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces of northeast China We proposed a Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) incorporating 7 factors covering natural conditions and human disturbance Based on the HSI values the suitability was classified Into five levels from the most to not suitable Finally according to results of GAP analysis we identified six conservation priorities and designed a conservation landscape incorporating four new nature reserves enlarging two existing ones and creating four linkages for Amur tigers in northeast China The case study showed that the core habitats (the most suitable and highly suitable habitats) identified for Amur tigers covered 35 547 km(2) accounting for approximately 26 71% of the total study area (1 33 093 km(2)) However existing nature reserves protected only (7124 km(2) or) 20 04% of the identified core habitats Thus enlargement of current reserves is necessary and urgent for the tiger s conservation and restoration Moreover the establishment of wildlife corridors linking core habitats will provide an efficient reserve network for tiger conservation to maintain the evolutionary potential of Amur tigers facing environmental changes (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved