A preliminary study on Himalaya marmot habitat vegetation condition in Qinghai Province

Objective To understand the relationship between habitat choice of Himalaya marmot and vegetation elements such as vegetation coverage, grassland type, vegetation type and so on by using geographic information technology in Qinghai. Methods Himalayan marmot field survey data from Qinghai Provincial Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention and vegetation coverage, grassland type and other remote sensing and geographic information data was processed for spatial overlay using ArcGIS tool. The vegetation characteristic information of the location of Himalayan marmot was searched and analyzed statistically, and then the initial quantitative analysis of Himalayan marmot on the selection of habitat vegetation conditions was made. Results After screening, 84 samples of Himalayan marmot were retained. The mean of vegetation coverage was 0.708 5, the range was 0.313 3-1.000 0. Totally 54.76% (46/84) of the Himalayan marmot samples was in the vegetation coverage of 0.70 to 1.00. Among the nine grassland types, the alpine meadows accounted for 39.78% of total area of Qinghai, with 59 Himalayan marmot sample points distributed, which accounting for 70.24%(59/84). Himalayan marmot mainly feed on some of the roots of grassland plants, including Poa pratensis, Alpine Kobresia, Potentilla, Polygonum viviparum, Kobresia cordata, Oxytropis, Aster and other miscellaneous grass. Conclusions Vegetation conditions is one of the important factors of Himalayan marmot in habitat selection. Quantitative analysis of the relationship between Himalayan marmot spatial distribution and vegetation factors by using geographic information technology,can deepen the understanding of marmot habitat selection, and provide a basis for grassland plague surveillance and control. Key words: Marmota; Geographic information systems; Vegetation; Grassland