State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; Sino-Tajikistan Joint Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources, Urumqi 830011, China; Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Application in Arid lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; Mori Wildlife Monitoring and Experimentation Station, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mori 831900, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; Sino-Tajikistan Joint Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources, Urumqi 830011, China; Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Application in Arid lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; Mori Wildlife Monitoring and Experimentation Station, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mori 831900, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Feb 20;912:169298. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169298. Epub 2023 Dec 20.
Border fences have severely impeded the transboundary migration of a number of large mammals worldwide, with central Asia being one of the most impacted. The Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii), an iconic species of Pamir, is threatened in its transboundary movement by increasing border fencing among their five distributed countries, including Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In this study, by building ensemble species distribution models, we found that eastern Tajikistan had the largest suitable Macro Polo sheep habitat (about 42 % of the total suitable habitat), followed by China (about 32 %). We used least-cost paths to identify 51 ecological corridors including 5 transboundary ecological corridors, which may be important to maintain connectivity in both domestic and transboundary regions. To assess the potential barrier effect of border fences, we assessed four scenarios (30, 40, 50 and 60°) corresponding to the upper limit of the slope for the construction of fences. In areas too steep for fencing, these could be used by wild sheep to cross barriers or borders and may represent migration or movement routes, defined as natural passages. In the most pessimistic Scenario 60, only 25 migratory passages along the border fences were identified, compared to 997 in the most optimistic scenario (Scenario 30), indicating a strong negative effect of intensive border fencing on the transboundary movement of Marco Polo sheep. The establishment of transnational conservation parks, and ensuring permeability is maintained in key areas, could have a positive impact on the connectivity and persistence of Marco Polo sheep populations, and provide important lessons for other large migratory mammals in transboundary regions.
边境围栏严重阻碍了全球许多大型哺乳动物的跨境迁移，中亚就是受影响最严重的地区之一。马可波罗羊（Ovis ammon polii）是帕米尔高原的标志性物种，由于其五个分布国家（包括塔吉克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、中国、阿富汗和巴基斯坦）之间不断增加的边境围栏，其跨境迁徙受到威胁。在这项研究中，通过构建集成物种分布模型，我们发现，塔吉克斯坦东部拥有最大的适合马可波罗羊栖息地（约占总适宜栖息地的 42%），其次是中国（约占 32%）。我们使用最小成本路径来确定 51 条生态廊道，包括 5 条跨境生态廊道，这些廊道可能对维持国内和跨境地区的连通性非常重要。为了评估边境围栏的潜在障碍效应，我们评估了四个场景（30°、40°、50°和 60°），这些场景对应围栏建造的坡度上限。在对于围栏建设来说过于陡峭的区域，这些区域可能被野生绵羊用来穿越障碍或边境，并且可能代表着迁徙或移动路线，定义为自然通道。在最悲观的场景 60 中，仅在边境围栏沿线确定了 25 条迁徙通道，而在最乐观的场景 30 中则确定了 997 条，这表明密集的边境围栏对马可波罗羊的跨境迁徙有强烈的负面影响。建立跨国保护公园，并确保在关键地区保持通透性，可能会对马可波罗羊种群的连通性和持续性产生积极影响，并为跨界地区的其他大型迁徙哺乳动物提供重要经验。
