Influence of land use changes on landscape connectivity for North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis)

Aim: North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis), is the most widespread subspecies of leopard and one of the rare and endangered species in China. It is currently confined to several isolated reserves, and little is known about its habitat network connectivity with land use changes. We proposed an approach for the evaluation of the impacts of land use changes on landscape connectivity for North China leopard. Location: The Great Taihang Region, in the north of China, covers the entire territory of Shanxi province, as well as some districts and counties in Beijing, Hebei and Henan provinces. Methods: We analysed multiple background layers affecting North China leopard movement patterns, including environmental and anthropogenic factors, and generated a landscape resistance surface. Then we used Circuit theory-based connectivity models to delineate pathways suitable for species movement, and evaluate the connectivity status of core areas and the impacts of land use changes on landscape connectivity. Results: We identified 33 least cos distance paths in 1990 and 34 paths in 2020, and four key barrier areas. The landscape connectivity has not been greatly improved with the land use changes, especially with the increase of forest land from 26.61 to 34.85%. Nevertheless, there is a decreasing trend on connectivity in some key movement barrier areas. Improving landscape connectivity at a broad spatial scale is as important as protecting the habitats (natural reserves) where the species lived. Main conclusions: Our study can serve as an example of how to explore the relationships between land use changes and landscape connectivity for species at broad spatial scales with limited movement patterns data. This information is proved to be critical for enhancing landscape connectivity for conservation concern of North China leopard and planning of natural reserves network.