Giant Panda Habitat Preference Analysis

From October 2020 to April 2022, the data of giant panda traces were recorded using the sample line method and infrared camera monitoring method, and a sample survey was conducted in March–April and October–November (from 2020 to 2022) in the areas where giant panda traces were recorded to determine the preferred environmental factors of the giant panda habitat. A total of 34 sample lines ≥3 km were set at intervals of ≥500 m. The sample lines covered as many vegetation types and as many potential giant panda distribution areas as possible. Combining data from 158 infrared cameras placed in the study area, the entire Daxiangling Reserve was divided into 145 square grids of 2 km² each, with each camera spaced at least 500 m apart to ensure uniform camera coverage (Figure 1). Ten microhabitat variables were recorded in a 10 × 10 m sample square centered on the site of giant panda traces. The classification criteria for different environmental variables are shown in Table 1. A control sample was randomly set up along the sample line for every 500 m of walking or 100 m of elevation climb without traces of giant panda activity to reflect the environmental background information, and the setting and habitat variables of the control sample were recorded in the same way as the utilization sample [27 (link)]. A total of 348 samples were set up [23 (link)].
These habitat selection and ecological niche data were input into Excel for the relevant conversions. Following the conversion, the data were entered into SPSS13.0 for normality testing via the one-sample K-S test. Data that conformed to a normal distribution were tested through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and data that did not conform to a normal distribution were tested using the Mann–Whitney U test.