Influence of land use changes on landscape connectivity for North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis)

North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis), is the most widespread subspecies of leopard and one of the rare and endangered species in China. It is currently confined to several isolated natural reserves, and little is known about its habitat network connectivity with land use changes. This study was conducted to assess the impacts of land use changes on landscape connectivity for North China leopards in the Great Taihang Region. Circuit theory-based connectivity models and least-cost path analyses were used to delineate pathways suitable for species movement, and evaluate the impacts of land use changes on landscape connectivity. The results revealed that there were 37 least-cost paths in 1990 and 38 in 2020. The area of forest land increased from 57142.74 km2 to 74836.64 km2, with the percentage increasing from 26.61% to 34.85%. In general, the increase of forest land area promoted landscape connectivity for North China leopards at broad spatial scales. The improvement of landsc...