Spatial coincidence between mining activities and protected areas of giant panda habitat: The geographic overlaps and implications for conservation

Mining activities provide the increasing basic human needs of materials, and the pressures of mining operations on biodiversity have been widely recognized. The spatial coincidence between mining surfaces and protected areas (or biodiversity hotspots) were identified by many studies at the global, national, and landscape scales, but few studies have focused on the spatial overlap between mining activities and the protected areas of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), which is a world-renowned vulnerable flagship species, whose habitat has been decreased and fragmented since the last century. In this paper, using the official data of mining operation areas, we applied spatial analyses to detect the correlation among mining surfaces, panda populations (77.4% of all wild individuals), as well as their habitat (61.8% of the whole territory) and protected areas. We proposed a biodiversity factor index (BDF) to empirically test the potential influences of mining activities on wildlife habitat or protected areas. The results showed that: 1) from 2010 to 2019, a total of 197 mining concessions were detected in the habitat and protected areas of pandas, covering an area of 354.60 km2; 2) the most important types of protected areas for conservation (e.g. strict nature reserve and national park) suffered the most impacts caused by mining activities; 3) the panda populations preferred better habitat and avoided the mining sites, but mining operations introduced threats to the high suitability habitat most; 4) the high mining density areas were concentrated in seven zones. Finally, we discussed the reasons why mining operations were extendedly overlapped with the protected areas of panda habitat. Based on the spatial and temporal distribution of mining activities on panda habitat, some priority areas for habitat restorations were presented, which would attenuate the immediate conflict between stakeholders' interests and conservation at the beginning of restoration and increase the habitat quality in the long term.