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Habitat corridors provide connectivity to decrease the negative effects of fragmentation. However, numerous current studies on habitat corridors remain in the design stage, and there is a lack of research addressing the challenges and feasibility of actual construction. Therefore, fine-scale analyses of habitat corridors are needed to provide deeper insights. We proposed a fine-scale habitat corridor design using the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) population in the Mabian Dafengding National Nature Reserve as a case study. The research combined field quadrats, camera traps, and remote sensing data to complete analyses using the species distribution model, landscape pattern index, circuit theory model, and least-cost path (LCP) model. The results show that 53 km2 of suitable habitat for giant pandas exists in the reserve, and anthropogenic disturbance and bamboo cover were key environmental factors affecting giant pandas’ habitat suitability. Fragmentation has caused suitable habitat isolation, and the core habitat is non-contiguously scattered between the north and south. In the design of ten habitat corridors, two primary corridors connect the core habitat from north to south. The proposed primary corridors, roughly 1.4 km wide, are limited by natural impediments such as rivers, food resources, and anthropogenic disturbance. Our research used the latest methods and data to design the habitat corridor and reveals many difficulties for actual construction, despite employing approaches such as the LCP. Our findings enhance the understanding of habitat corridor feasibility and support the development of giant panda conservation efforts.

Livestock grazing and the collection of bamboo shoots are the main threats to giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat in the Liangshan Mountains in China. It is important to clarify the effect of these disturbances to the giant panda to formulate targeted management policies. Based on species distribution models and daily activity models, we investigated the effects of livestock grazing and bamboo shoot collection on giant pandas from May 2021 to July 2022. Our results indicated the giant panda's suitable habitat in the reserve covered 51.83 km² (15.02% of the reserve area). Grazing and bamboo shoot collection led to losses of 19.08 km² and 7.68 km² of suitable habitat, respectively. Together, the 2 activities resulted in a loss of 28.35 km² of suitable habitat, which was more than half of the area of panda habitat. The areas of suitable habitat for giant pandas significantly overlapped with the areas affected by both disturbances. Giant pandas did not show significant differences in daily activity rhythms under a single disturbance, but the daily activity rhythms of giant pandas differed when we compared the area combining the 2 disturbances with the undisturbed area. Our study reveals that the anthropogenic disturbances in the reserve have varying effects on the suitable habitat range and daily activity rhythm of giant pandas and evidence of a synergistic effect. Therefore, when formulating relevant conservation policies, it is important to fully evaluate the extent and characteristics of anthropogenic disturbances in shaping the population distribution and habitat preferences of the giant panda and other wildlife to enhance the efficacy of conservation management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]