Low intensity subsistence agriculture is generally believed to be less damaging to wildlife than intensive farming. As Myanmar is undergoing rapid modernization, subsistence farming may shift to intensive agriculture, resulting in increased threats to species of conservation concern such as the green peafowl Pavo muticus. Here we investigate habitat use of the green peafowl in a low intensity agricultural landscape surrounding a small forest fragment in southern Shan State, Myanmar. The forest belongs to Nan Kone Buddha Monastery and the green peafowl is protected from hunting in the area on the basis of religious beliefs. We established three survey transects with a total length of 3,414 m. During February 2016–January 2017 we conducted surveys twice daily for 4 consecutive days every month, walking all transects in both directions in the mornings and afternoons and recording visual and auditory peafowl encounters. We estimated peafowl density to be 2.63 animals/km2 in the less disturbed western part of the study area and 1.13 animals/km2 in the eastern part, which had higher levels of human disturbance. The peafowl's habitat use was significantly non-random, with forest patches being the most utilized habitat, followed by croplands. Within a 300 m buffer zone around the forest patch, the order of habitat preference was crop > scrub > fallow, with crop significantly preferred over the other two habitats. We conclude that preserved isolated forest blocks adjacent to community-managed agricultural areas are important for green peafowl conservation, and discuss the implications for long-term conservation management of the species.

中文翻译：

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孤立的森林碎片和低强度农业对绿孔雀 Pavo muticus 长期保护的重要性

人们普遍认为，低强度自给农业比集约化农业对野生动物的破坏要小。随着缅甸正在经历快速的现代化，自给农业可能会转向集约化农业，从而导致对绿孔雀等受保护物种的威胁增加小孔雀. 在这里，我们调查了缅甸掸邦南部一片小森林碎片周围低强度农业景观中绿孔雀栖息地的利用情况。森林属于Nan Kone Buddha Monastery，根据宗教信仰，绿孔雀在该地区受到保护，不得狩猎。我们建立了三个测量样带，总长度为 3,414 m。在 2016 年 2 月至 2017 年 1 月期间，我们每天进行两次调查，每个月连续 4 天，在早上和下午在两个方向上行走所有样带，并记录视觉和听觉孔雀的相遇。我们估计孔雀密度为 2.63 只/km2在研究区受干扰较小的西部和 1.13 只动物/公里2东部地区，人为干扰程度较高。孔雀的栖息地使用明显是非随机的，森林斑块是利用最多的栖息地，其次是农田。在森林斑块周围 300 m 的缓冲区内，生境偏好的顺序是作物 > 灌木 > 休耕，作物明显优于其他两个生境。我们得出结论，与社区管理的农业区相邻的保存完好的孤立森林街区对于绿孔雀保护很重要，并讨论了对该物种长期保护管理的影响。