Biodiversity hotspot assessment in the Altai Mountains transboundary region based on Mammals and Aves

RESEARCH ARTICLE Biodiversity hotspot assessment in the Altai Mountains transboundary region based on Mammals and Aves Mengqi Yuan1,2, Fang HanID1,2*, Yue Yang1,2, Aleksandr Dunets3, Mikhail Shishin4, Ordenbek Mazbayev5, Bayarkhuu Batbayar6 1 State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China, 2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, 3 Altai State University, Barnaul, Russian, 4 Altai State Technical University, Barnaul, Russian, 5 L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan, 6 Western Regional School of National University of Mongolia, Khovd, Mongolia * hanfang@ms.xjb.ac.cn Abstract Most of the world’s mountains are distributed across national boundaries. However, due to the sovereignty of national boundaries, conservation plans between neighboring countries are often uncoordinated. Against the backdrop of impending environmental changes, trans- boundary mountain ecosystems and biodiversity face significant threats. This study employs the MaxEnt model, leveraging data on climate, topography, landscape, and human activities to predict potential distribution areas for mammals and birds, aiming to identify bio- diversity hotspots (BHs) and analyze their distribution mechanisms in the Altai Mountains transboundary region (AMTR). Results indicate that BHs are primarily located near the Rus-

sian-Mongolian border, significantly influenced by climate variables, elevation, and human activities. The study also highlights changes in key habitat types (KHTs), particularly transi- tions between grassland and bareland, and the impact of climate-driven land cover change on the distribution of BHs. Furthermore, the research evaluates the coverage of protected areas and emphasizes the importance of identifying key biodiversity areas (KBAs) and establishing transboundary corridors for enhanced species protection and future environ- mental change adaptation. The findings underscore the necessity of transboundary cooper- ation and focused strategies for biodiversity conservation to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and human activities. Introduction Mountains are global biodiversity hotspots. The complex and diverse habitat types of moun- tains have given birth to numerous unique and rare animal and plant species, making them a gene pool for the survival and reproduction of various biological species [1, 2], however, the global mountains are mostly distributed across national boundaries spanning the territories of PLOS ONE PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314075 December 4, 2024 1 / 20 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 OPEN ACCESS Citation: Yuan M, Han F, Yang Y, Dunets A, Shishin M, Mazbayev O, et al. (2024) Biodiversity hotspot assessment in the Altai Mountains transboundary region based on Mammals and Aves. PLoS ONE 19(12): e0314075. https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0314075

Editor: Zeeshan Ahmad, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad: Quaid-i-Azam University, PAKISTAN Received: March 15, 2024 Accepted: November 4, 2024 Published: December 4, 2024 Copyright: © 2024 Yuan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files. Funding: Supported by the Third Xinjiang Scientific Expedition Program (Grant No.2022xjkk0805) "Tianshan Talents" training program (No.2023TSYCCX0088) “One Belt One Road” innovative talent exchange foreign expert project (No.DL2023046003L) CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES PRESIDENT’S INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP INITIATIVE (No. 2024VCA0013) The