Study On Habitat Characteristic And Habitat Change Of Red Crowned Crane In Rare Birds Nature Reserve Of Yancheng, Jiangsu

The factors which influent the Red-crowned Crane(Gras japonensis)habitat choosing include moisture, food, shelter and disturbance from the viewpoint of waterfowl itself. The four habitat factors are dividing into several classes according to the classification methods of habitat choosing factors. Based on the remote sensing images and field work, I get several habitat factor maps using Erdas and Arcgis. The habitat maps are made by the union of the habitat factor maps.The habitat factor change in study area from 1992 to 2006 is analyzed with Arcgis. After the analysis of area, the results show that each habitat choosing factor has a great change owning to the disturbance of human beings. The changes of the habitat choosing factors reduce the quantity of Red-crowned Crane habitat in the area.Based on the habitat map and field data, the Red-crowned Crane suitable habitat map is attained by the RS and GIS. analyze on the change of the Red-crowned Crane suitable habitat in the area from 1992 to 2006,The result shows that almost all types of suitable habitat area is reducing ,available food for Red-crowned Crane and biomass of the habitat is reducing rapidly also.In a word, the quality of the Red-crowned Crane suitable habitat is declining mostly owning to the disturbance of human beings. The change of Nature Reserve is disbennifit to the Red-crowned Crane.the chief factor influencing the habitat selection of Red-crowned Crane wintering habitat is food. The Red-crowned Cranes prefer to choose the habitat which the water and food are plenty, the disturbance is lighter and the coverage rate is lower. such as Suaeda salsa shoal,Grass land,Phragmites australis shoal;they don't like to stay in aquiculture ponds,Spartina alterniflora shoal and mud flat, and the selection of salt fields and farm land is in the middle. most of Red-crowned Crane's food is from animal. By using LiWenjun's mathematical models and"Neu method", I have also improved that Red-crowned Cranes like to stay in the places where the coast is accumulated and with more food and less salinity but distant from road(human activity).The Rare Birds Nature Reserve of Yancheng is the largest wetland ecosystem in China. Superior habitat condition is helpful to abundant resource which make the area become the most important habitat for The Red-crowned Cranes and other water birds to wintering,inhabit and breed. This study will provide a scientific basis for habitat selection and protection of Red-crowned Cranes and other animals.