Differential influence on threatened vertebrates under land use and land cover change in China since the 21st century

Land use/land cover change (LUCC) has been considered a primary driver of biodiversity loss. However, since 2000, China has experienced rapid economic growth, leading to significant shifts in land-use patterns. These processes are profoundly impacting the achievement of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, yet their influence remains unclear. Here, we aim to identify the potential biodiversity spots affected by LUCC (particularly cropland expansion, urbanization, and ecological restoration) by integrating the multiple phases of high-resolution land use and land cover datasets and the biodiversity dataset. We found that 445 spots with high species richness of threatened vertebrates are potentially threatened by cropland expansion, mainly in the Northeast China and the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain, and 421 spots characterized by settlement expansion and high species richness of threatened vertebrates, concentrated in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain and the South China. There were also 296 spots, characterized by large-scale ecological restoration projects and high species richness of threatened vertebrates. Due to the spatial distribution of different taxonomic groups, threatened mammals and amphibians have benefited most from ecological restoration projects. Conversely, birds benefited the least from ecological restoration projects. The findings are expected to provide scientific references for China to achieve the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.