桃红岭国家级自然保护区梅花鹿种群现状

梅花鹿南方亚种被IUCN濒危物种红皮书列为濒危级,仅分布于安徽南部、江西东北部和浙江西北部,分布区域日益萎缩,分布区之间隔离程度较大。江西桃红岭是该亚种分布区之一,为保护该亚种,1981年成立桃红岭自然保护区,2001年升级为国家级自然保护区。为了解桃红岭野生梅花鹿现生种群数量,评估保护区过去30 a的保护成效,我们于2011年秋季采用直接计数的广义样线法开展梅花鹿种群调查。调查结果表明,保护区内梅花鹿数量为365只,密度为2.92只/km~2,近年来梅花鹿种群增长较慢。经过30 a的保护,该保护区自然植被正在演替恢复。然而,当地的顶级植物群落可能并不是梅花鹿的适宜生境。因此,近年来,梅花鹿向保护区外扩散趋势明显,由此带来的各种管理问题值得关注。

Population Status of South China Sika Deer in Taohongling National Nature Reserve

Abstract： South China sika deer （ Cervus nippon kopschi） is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Redlist and the distribution of this subspecies is declining and fragmented. South China sika deer are currently found in southern Anhui Province, northeastern Jiangxi Province, and northwestern Zhejiang Province of China. The Taohongling mountains are one of the concentration areas of the subspecies. A nature reserve was established in 1981 to protect South China sika deer and the nature reserve was promoted to national level in 2001. We used line -transect surveys to estimate sika deer numbers in the reserve in autumn 2011. Our ob- jective was to estimate the current population size in Taohongling National Nature Reserve and assess the management impact of the reserve since its establishment. We estimated the population size at 365 （2. 92 deer/km2 ） . Compared with previous popu- lation estimates, the population growth rate of the sika deer in Taohongling has slowed during recent years. Natural vegetation in the reserve has changed from a highly disturbed condition toward climax - evergreen broadleaved forest due to the strict protec- tion measures taken by the management authority of the nature reserve. However~ the climax vegetation of the Taohongling mountains might not be suitable habitat for sika deer, possibly accounting for the increasing deer dispersals from the reserve to surrounding unprotected areas. More attention should be paid to management issues arising from the increasing dispersal of sika deer from Taohongling National Nature Reverse.