The Impact of Livestock on the Spatiotemporal Activity of Ungulates in Western Sichuan, China

Grazing is a widespread land use practice with significant implications for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Wild ungulates, as key components of terrestrial ecosystems, play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem health. Dietary overlap exposes wild ungulates to intense competition with livestock, yet the effects of grazing on them remain underexplored. Using camera-trapping data from Xinglong County in the mountains of Southeast China, we investigated the spatiotemporal responses of eight wild ungulates to livestock (cattle and horses). Our results showed the following: (1) The potential distribution of suitable habitats for ungulates was primarily shaped by elevation (ELE), distance to temple (DTT), precipitation of the coldest quarter (bio19), and distance to water (DTW). Among the species, blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) showed the strongest response to livestock presence. (2) Spatially, most ungulates appeared to avoid livestock; forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) showed spatial avoidance of horses. (3) Temporally, the daily activity patterns of most ungulates generally showed low to moderate overlap with those of cattle. These findings suggest that livestock grazing may be associated with negative effects on wild ungulates in Xinlong County. Given the ecological importance of ungulates, the need to maintain wildlife community integrity, and the long history of grazing in the region, further research is warranted to understand the role of livestock in shaping wildlife communities.