Asian elephants are increasingly encroaching on areas of human activity, leading to significant concerns about human-elephant conflict and subsequent conservation challenges. There is an urgent need for a landscape adaptation strategy that enhances the connectivity and integrity of Asian elephant habitats, taking into account their long-distance movement requirements. However, comprehensive large-scale ecological networks incorporating long-distance corridors for Asian elephants are notably absent.

In a recent study published in Integrative Conservation, researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) suggest a macro-scale priority ecological network across various climate scenarios. This network aims to improve the species' climate adaptability and inform future conservation strategies. The researchers employ species distribution models and minimum resistance models to construct present and future multi-scenario ecological networks. The objective is to elucidate key aspects of climate adaptability and prioritize corridor strategies for Asian elephants.

The researchers conducted an analysis of the structural and functional characteristics of ecological sources and corridors, yielding insights into potential habitat changes for Asian elephants. The findings suggest a potential migration in elephant populations from lower to higher latitudes, prompted by the disparity in habitat quality between northern and southern regions projected under future climate scenarios.

The research emphasizes the pivotal role of long-distance corridors in extensive conservation networks, highlighting the constraints of relying solely on short-range corridors for climate adaptability.

The research findings indicate that long-distance corridors play a crucial role in habitat connectivity and demonstrate remarkable climate resilience. Notably, over one-third of these corridors align with current protected areas, addressing 61.2% of the identified conservation gaps. These insights offer valuable guidance for refining future conservation strategies.

“Long-distance ecological corridors are imperative for improving connectivity and climate resilience. Coordinating protected areas and long-distance corridors is key to ensuring biodiversity conservation amid future environmental uncertainties,” said BAI Yang of XTBG.

Contact

BAI Yang Ph.D Principal Investigator

Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303 China

E-mail: baiyang@xtbg.ac.cn

First published: 10 March 2025