title: Identifying local-scale wilderness for on-ground conservation actions within a global biodiversity hotspot.
abstract: Protecting wilderness areas (WAs) is a crucial proactive approach to sustain biodiversity. However, studies identifying local-scale WAs for on-ground conservation efforts are still very limited. This paper investigated the spatial patterns of wilderness in a global biodiversity hotspot - Three Parallel Rivers Region (TPRR) in southwest China. Wilderness was classified into levels 1 to 10 based on a cluster analysis of five indicators, namely human population density, naturalness, fragmentation, remoteness, and ruggedness. Only patches characterized by wilderness level 1 and ≥1.0 km(2) were considered WAs. The wilderness levels in the northwest were significantly higher than those in the southeast, and clearly increased with the increase in elevation. The WAs covered approximately 25% of TPRR's land, 89.3% of which was located in the >3,000 m elevation zones. WAs consisted of 20 vegetation types, among which temperate conifer forest, cold temperate shrub and alpine ecosystems covered 79.4% of WAs' total area. Most WAs were still not protected yet by existing reserves. Topography and human activities are the primary influencing factors on the spatial patterns of wilderness. We suggest establishing strictly protected reserves for most large WAs, while some sustainable management approaches might be more optimal solutions for many highly fragmented small WAs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China.|Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Ecosecurity, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China.
authors.forename: Shiwei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China.|Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Ecosecurity, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China.
authors.forename: Ruidong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Yunnan Forestry Inventory and Planning, Kunming, Yunnan 650221, China.
authors.forename: Chaolang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Academy of Forestry, Kunming, Yunnan 650000, China.
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China.
authors.forename: Wenli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China.|Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Ecosecurity, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China.
authors.forename: Feiling
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China.|Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Ecosecurity, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China.
authors.forename: Junjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D011156:Population Density; D055814:Wilderness