大熊猫生境选择研究是近20年来一个比较活跃的区域,目前的研究基本集中在微生境与采食场两个空间尺度上.具有平缓的坡度被广泛认为是大熊猫偏好微生境的特征,而在微生境内对采食场的选择则侧重于具有较多喜食食物的部分,如老笋、新笋等的集中处.大熊猫生境选择的模式并不是一成不变的,外来人为干扰可导致大熊猫选择生境的漂移.同域分布的大、小熊猫具有明显不同的生境利用模式,这反映了两种熊猫在生理、生态需求等方面的不同,而非因种间竞争导致的生态调整之结果.
As an active field in giant panda ecology during the past 20 years, almost all previous studies on habitat selection by this species were centralized on two spatial scales: microhabitats and foraging sites. Characteristic preferred microhabitats by the giant panda is gentle slope, in which the giant panda usually selects foraging sites with abundant preferred food items, such as new shoots, old shoots and so on. It is not Stereotypic for the habitat selection pattern exhibited by the giant panda, and outer disturbances would result in the shift in selected microhabitats. Distinctive habitat selection patterns exist between the giant panda and the red panda, reflecting the difference in their physiological and ecological demands, not the evolutionary adjustment from intense interspecific competition.