2004~2005年冬季的12月、1月和春季的4月、5月,在秦岭山系南坡佛坪自然保护区内就大熊猫对构成其主要栖息地和食物来源的巴山木竹竹林的选择进行研究后的结果表明:在冬季,大熊猫栖息地多为幼竹与死竹比例基本持平、密度稳定的巴山木竹竹林,主要取食老竹;在春季,大熊猫更偏好选择竹子密度和盖度略低、竹子粗壮高大、幼竹与竹笋比例高的竹林活动,主要取食幼竹。大熊猫春季栖息地幼竹比例通常高过死竹比例,竹林密度处于增长期。竹林进入发笋期后,稀疏、高大的竹林下的粗大竹笋成为大熊猫的主要食物来源。
Bashaniafargesii, one of the dominant bamboo species distributed at the elevation between 1 000- 1 900 m of Qinling Mountains, is an important food source for the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca ). The habitat preference of the Giant Panda for different bamboo forests is hardly known. To investigate the relationship between the bamboo and Giant Pandas, we conducted a study on the food selection of the Giant Pandas on the B. fargesii at Foping National Nature Reserve, Shaanxi Province in the winter of 2004 and the spring of 2005. Forty-five transects (about 17.3 km/ Each) across the reserve and 159 large samples (20 m × 20 m each) were surveyed. The data about the density, coverage, basal diameter, average height and proportion of the young B. fargesii were collected in the sample and the characteristic of the bamhoo previously bitten by the Giant Pandas. The result indicated that pandas mainly foraged on old bamboo in the B. fargesii forest in which the proportion of young bamboo was as low as the proportion of died bamboo in the winter. In the spring, however, the pandas showed strong preference for B. fargesii forests with lower densities, larger basal diameters and higher proportion of young bamboos. Most pandas selected to habitat with a large density of growing B. fargesii, and young bamboos were the pandas' favorite food, When bamboo shoots bourgeoned, the thick shoots among the sparse B. fargesii forests with larger basal diameters became the major food source for those pandas.