Assessing Habitat Suitability and Connectivity of Black Storks in China: Integrating Species Distribution Models and Landscape Connectivity Analysis

The black stork (<i>Ciconia nigra</i>), recognized as a wetland umbrella species and biological indicator, plays a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem balance and biodiversity conservation. However, the black stork faces significant threats from habitat fragmentation and degradation. This study employed the MaxEnt model and landscape connectivity analysis to evaluate suitable habitats for black storks in China, design an ecological corridor network, and identify key ecological nodes. The findings reveal that areas of high habitat suitability are primarily located in North China, the northwestern region of Xinjiang, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The ecological corridor network connects regions between North China and the Yangtze River Basin, forming a rectangular network with vertices in Gansu-Qinghai, Shanxi-Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the lower Yangtze, and Sichuan-Yunnan Province, respectively, totaling 28,312 km in length. Additionally, four ecological nodes requiring priority protection and management were identified. The study proposes conservation strategies that improve habitat connectivity and ecological functionality to ensure the long-term stability of black stork populations. Such strategies include prioritizing the protection of highly suitable habitats (e.g., in Shanxi and Hebei), enhancing ecological restoration in the Hexi Corridor, and strengthening the conservation and management of nature reserves by improving ecological connectivity, clarifying functional zoning, and enhancing monitoring and enforcement capacity.