Abstract: Information on habitat quality, animal behavior, population dynamics, and predator-prey interaction is crucial for wildlife management. Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) is a second-class national protected animal in China, mainly distributed on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and surrounding regions. It is the prey of rare carnivores, including snow leopard (Panthera uncia), wolf (Canis lupus) and brown bear (Ursus arctos). In the 20th century, as an important game species, blue sheep suffered mass killing and trafficking, which affected their population size and distribution as well as the food resources of the predators. Currently, conflicts often occur between the protection of blue sheep and human interests, due to lack of available information on the management of blue sheep. The distribution of blue sheep is spread over the entire Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. While studies have concentrated on their population distribution, behavior and taxonomy in Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang, no research has been conducted on the central Tibetan Plateau. There is consequently a lack of assessment on habitat quality for blue sheep, and on the effects of human activities, and its significance as food resource of the snow leopard. Moreover, few studies focus on the transmission of epidemic disease from livestock to blue sheep, though studies have been done on veterinary, fecal microbiota and nutriology of blue sheep. Many studies have examined the evolution and adaptation of blue sheep, but macro-ecology studies are lacking, resulting in knowledge gaps in population dynamics and controversy about classification and fuzzy geographic distribution. The use of new techniques to handle macro-ecology problems have been heavily debated, including molecular recognition, computer recognition, drones and camera traps. We suggest intensify the protection of the dwarf blue sheep and the blue sheep in Helan Mountains. For better monitoring of population dynamics and wildlife management, protective measures could be the implementation of animal and environmental monitoring systems in reserves with new techniques, increasing frequency of wildlife detection out the reserves, the establishment of new protected reserves and monitoring stations, and enlarging the areas of current reserves.

Key words: form quality., Taxus wallichina var. mairei, gap size, Cunninghamia lanceolata, growth