[Habitat network construction in Elephas maximus activity areas].

Under the ongoing strategic advancement of biodiversity conservation, the delineation of the proposed Asian Elephant National Park progressively entered the phase of spatial identification. Identifying the habitat network of regional flagship and umbrella species served as a critical prerequisite and scientific basis for defining spatial extent of the park. This study focused on the key distribution areas of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Xishuangbanna, Pu'er, and Lincang. We integrated the InVEST model with morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) to identify habitat sources, selected six ecological resistance factors and determined their weights using the entropy weight method to construct a resistance surface. We applied the Linkage Mapper tool to extract habitat corridors, ecological barrier points and pinch points, thereby building the habitat network for Asian elephant acti-vity areas. The results showed that a total of 158 habitat sources were identified, covering approximately 23000 km2, with primary and secondary sources together accounting for 18000 km2(20.5% of the study area). There was a spatial pattern of "high density in the central region, sparse distribution at both ends, and north-south connecti-vity", forming a continuous and ecologically valuable core habitat source areas along the Xishuangbanna-Pu'er boundary. We extracted 439 habitat corridors with a combined length of 4616.58 km, which displayed a pattern of "denser in the south, sparser in the north, connecting patches, and forming corridor belts", and effectively supported regional-scale elephant movement. The ecological barrier points in Asian elephant migration paths are predominantly distributed in areas of dense road disturbance and fragmented habitats in Lincang City and central-eastern Pu'er. The ecological pinch points are mainly concentrated in Menghai County and the Menglun area of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, as well as in central-southern Pu'er. Clarifying the differentiated management needs corresponding to various source areas within the core zones of Asian elephants and prioritizing the protection of highly sensitive regions such as ecological barriers and ecological pinch points could enhance the overall connectivity and stability of the regional habitat network, thereby expanding its umbrella effect on biodiversity conservation.