Effects of Household Resource Utilization Behaviors on Giant Panda Habitat under the Background of Aging: Evidence from Sichuan Province

The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a flagship species for endangered wildlife conservation and is a specific relic species in China. Its habitat conservation has received widespread attention around the world. Since 2010, the phenomenon of an aging labor force gradually appeared within the Giant Panda Nature Reserve and its surrounding communities. Under the new labor force structure, households’ resource utilization behavior has had different characteristics, which has led an evolution in giant panda habitats. This study is based on a questionnaire and geographic data. It reveals the internal mechanisms of households’ resource utilization behavior impacting giant panda habitat patterns under the ongoing trend of labor force aging. The study shows that labor force aging has promoted rising ecological niche widths and falling ecological niche overlaps. These could drive a growth in giant panda habitat globally. From a spatial perspective, nature reserves with lower comprehensive ecological niche widths and higher ecological niche overlaps face greater conflict between conservation and development. However, the phenomenon of labor force aging mitigates these ecological conflicts to a certain extent.