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Deforestation and fragmentation of natural forests in the upper Changhua watershed, Hainan, China: implications for biodiversity conservation

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Abstract

Hainan, the largest tropical island in China, belongs to the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. The Changhua watershed is a center of endemism for plants and birds and the cradle of Hainan’s main rivers. However, this area has experienced recent and ongoing deforestation and habitat fragmentation. To quantify habitat loss and fragmentation of natural forests, as well as the land-cover changes in the Changhua watershed, we analyzed Landsat images obtained in 1988, 1995, and 2005. Land-cover dynamics analysis showed that natural forests increased in area (97,909 to 104,023 ha) from 1988 to 1995 but decreased rapidly to 76,306 ha over the next decade. Rubber plantations increased steadily throughout the study period while pulp plantations rapidly expanded after 1995. Similar patterns of land cover change were observed in protected areas, indicating a lack of enforcement. Natural forests conversion to rubber and pulp plantations has a general negative effect on biodiversity, primarily through habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation analysis showed that natural forests area was reduced and patch number increased, while patch size and connectivity decreased. These land-cover changes threatened local biodiversity, especially island endemic species. Both natural forests losses and fragmentation should be stopped by strict enforcement to prevent further damage. Preserving the remaining natural forests and enforcing the status of protected areas should be a management priority to maximize the watershed’s biodiversity conservation value.

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Acknowledgments

This work is part of the CGIAR Research Program 6: Forests, Trees, and Agroforestry. This work is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 31300403) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant 2013M540722). We thank William D. Dijak (Northern Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, Columbia, USA) for his advice in landscape indices selection and indices analyses. We also appreciate constructive comments and suggestions provided by the anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Mountain Ecosystem Studies (CMES), Kunming Institute of Botany (CAS), Lanhei Road132, Heilongtan, Kunming, 650201, China

    De-Li Zhai & Jian-Chu Xu

  2. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Central and East Asia Office, Lanhei Road132, Heilongtan, Kunming, 650201, China

    De-Li Zhai & Jian-Chu Xu

  3. Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Xuefu Road 301, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, China

    De-Li Zhai & Zhi-Cong Dai

  4. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan, Menglun, 666303, China

    Charles H. Cannon

  5. Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Charles H. Cannon

  6. Hainan Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Baiju Road 98, Haikou, 571126, China

    Cui-Ping Zhang

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  1. De-Li Zhai
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Zhai, DL., Cannon, C.H., Dai, ZC. et al. Deforestation and fragmentation of natural forests in the upper Changhua watershed, Hainan, China: implications for biodiversity conservation. Environ Monit Assess 187, 4137 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-4137-3

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