The spatial and temporal evolution of habitat quality and driving factors in nature reserves: a case study of 33 forest ecosystem reserves in Guizhou Province.

Background: Biodiversity plays a crucial role for humanity, serving as a foundation for human survival and development. Habitat quality serves as a critical indicator for assessing biodiversity and holds significant importance in both theoretical and practical domains. The unique natural geographical environment of Guizhou Province has fostered rich biodiversity and facilitated the establishment of numerous nature reserves, predominantly centered on forest ecosystems. Analyzing the habitat quality of nature reserves and its influencing factors is of great significance for maintaining the regional ecosystem stability, promoting sustainable development, and improving the ecological environment.

Method: Therefore, taking the 33 nature reserves of forest ecosystem in Guizhou Province as the study area, we first quantified habitat quality using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model to analyze changes in the nature reserve from 2000 to 2020. Then, we explored the effects of natural and social factors on the spatiotemporal evolution of habitat quality using the optimal parameters-based geographical detector (OPGD).

Results: Forests were identified as the primary land-use type in the study area. However, the nature reserves saw an increase area in cropland, and impervious land by 5,001.39 ha and 102.15 ha; a significant decrease in forests and grasslands; and a slight decrease in watersheds. Rapid urbanization, therefore, negatively affected the overall habitat quality of the reserve. Although there is a declining trend in the habitat quality of the nature reserve, the magnitude of change from 2010 to 2020 (-0.04) is smaller than that from 2000 to 2010 (-0.17), indicating that the management of the reserve has been somewhat effective. In national-level nature reserves, interactions between natural geographic factors and socio-economic factors were greater than interactions between natural geographic factors. Similarly, in local-level nature reserves, interactions between natural geographic factors and socio-economic factors outweighed interactions among social factors.

Conclusion: The spatiotemporal variability of habitat quality in the study area was shaped by the combined effects of natural and social factors. The habitat quality of local-level protected areas is, furthermore, more significantly affected by human activities, which are the primary cause of their degradation.