The natural habitat of giant pandas, rare animals living mainly in China's Qinling Mountain range, is being threatened by larch forests.

The southern foothills of the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province in Northwest China is where the largest and most diverse colonies of pandas are found and the primordial environment is their natural sanctuary, said Yong Yange, director of Shaanxi Foping Pandas Research Institute.

However, in recent years some counties within the panda protection zones blindly introduced larch trees into the region, which severely depleted the groves of bamboo, the food staple of pandas.

"The increase in larch forests seriously threatens the animals," Yong said.

According to experts at Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Department, larch trees have large crowns which can cause plants growing beneath them to die from a shortage of sunshine and water. And larch seeds, spread by birds and the wind, grow quickly. This can seriously impact the growth of surrounding plants.

But the larch is welcome in local counties because of its low planting cost, high survival rate and quick maturation into useful timber, experts said.

The introduction of larch into Qinling Mountain areas started in the early 1980s. "Though we cannot know how many hectares of larch have been planted, in Foping County, the major home of pandas, more than 1,333 hectares of larch trees have been planted and the damaged bamboo forest cannot be recovered," Yong said. The situation is also worsening in other protection zones, such as Changqing and Yangxian, he added.

The corridor linking panda clans in Ningshan and Foping has now been destroyed by larches. The habitat was decreased and the animals will suffer from the lack of food, Yong said.

"At present, the connection of Foping, Yangxian and Chenggu, three panda protection zones, has been cut off and in Chenggu zone where pandas could be seen in the 1970s, not one can be found at present," Yong said.

Experts warned that the pandas will lose their home if the larch is not put under control, and the local government is expected to take measures soon.

In another development, 16 giant pandas from the Wolong Panda Protection Zone in Southwest China's Sichuan Province will be sent to the Bifengxia panda base in the province in September to receive training that can make them more capable of getting food in the wild, Xinhua News Agency reported.

It is the first time in the world that a group of fold-bred pandas will be moved to another habitat, the report said.

Sources with the protection zone said the move will help keep the pandas healthy and prevent them from contracting diseases.

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