Preliminary Comparison of Habitat Selection of Giant Pandas between in Tangjiahe and in Fengtongzhai Nature Reserves

Giant panda's habitat choice of different mountains has not been reported.Thus,we set sizes of three different kinds of squares in Tangjiahe Nature Reserve located in the Min Mountains,and in Fengtongzhan Nature Reserve located in the Qionglai Mountains,respectively.We identified habitats selected and utilized by giant pandas through droppings left.Among thirteen habitat variables,five of them,namely bamboo height,density and basal diameter,shrub density and distance differed significantly between in Tangjiahe and in Fengtongzhai Nature Reserves,and for the others,the differences were not significant.The giant panda's habitat selections in the two places reflected the similarity of the giant pandas in different regions,but also their plastic adaption to local environmental differences.For the giant panda,two reasons perhaps resulted in the difference in habitat selection between the two reserves.One was that different species of bamboos and shrubs existed in these two reserves;the other was the flood occurred in 1991 in Tangjiahe Nature Reserve,which resulted in the development difference of communities between in Tangjiahe and in Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve.Average dropping groups left in habitat in general indicated average utilization of habitats by giant pandas.