Determinants of secondary school students' conservation willingness toward the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) in riparian cities along the Yellow River in Henan Province, China

Understanding public conservation willingness is crucial for mitigating the global decline in avian diversity. Secondary school students, as key future actors and stakeholders in biodiversity conservation, represent a critical demographic, but their conservation willingness toward avian species remains largely underexplored. To address this gap, we conducted a questionnaire survey in 64 secondary schools across eight riparian cities along the Yellow River in Henan Province, China. Using the Great Bustard ( Otis tarda )—a national first-class protected species and local conservation flagship—as the focal species, we constructed piecewise structural equation models (SEMs) to identify the key factors influencing students’ conservation willingness. The questionnaire results revealed that although nearly 90% of students supported the Great Bustard conservation, only about 30% understood both its protection class and habitat characteristics, and less than half had relevant nature experience or had participated in local forestry departments’ science communication activities. The piecewise SEM results demonstrated that students’ interest in birds, knowledge level of the Great Bustard, and participation in science communication activities all exerted direct and significant positive influences on their conservation willingness. Furthermore, in addition to its direct effect, science communication engagement also indirectly enhanced conservation willingness by strengthening interest and knowledge, while the effects of grade level and nature experience were exclusively indirect, operating through the same pathways. To improve the effective conservation of the Great Bustard, we recommend that secondary schools strengthen collaborations with universities and nature reserves to enrich students’ nature experience, and that local forestry departments further expand the coverage and depth of science communication activities targeting adolescent groups.