Sacred forests are increasingly disappearing due to increasing land pressure and a decline in cultural values. Protecting the remaining sacred forests plays a crucial role in preserving biodiversity. The existence of remaining old forests often related to local people and their culture, but this relationship has rarely been quantified at large regional scales. This study analyzes the relationship between old forest and ethnic minorities based on the location of the old forest at a high spatial resolution (2 m). We found a significantly positive correlation ( < 0.01) between the proportion of ethnic minority population and old forest patch number, area, aggregation, and maximum patch area. However, there was no correlation with the connectivity of the old forest ( = 0.14). We further show that both environmental and anthropogenic factors are important for the distribution of old forests. Hydrothermal conditions contribute to the growth of forests, and local ethnic customs and the corresponding ecological wisdom contributes to the preservation of old forest remnants ( = 0.12, < 0.05). Our findings highlight the significance of social dimensions for the conservation of old forests. We encourage that forest management should consider the role of indigenous people and their cultural wisdom for a better conservation and restoration of degraded ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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西南地区古老森林的保护与少数民族的存在密切相关

由于土地压力增加和文化价值下降，神圣森林日益消失。保护剩余的神圣森林在保护生物多样性方面发挥着至关重要的作用。残留的古老森林的存在通常与当地人及其文化有关，但这种关系很少在大区域尺度上量化。本研究基于高空间分辨率（2 m）老森林的位置来分析老森林与少数民族之间的关系。发现少数民族人口比例与老林斑块数量、面积、聚集度、最大斑块面积呈显着正相关（<0.01）。然而，与老森林的连通性没有相关性（= 0.14）。我们进一步表明，环境和人为因素对于老森林的分布都很重要。水热条件有助于森林的生长，当地的民族习俗和相应的生态智慧有助于保存古老的森林遗迹（= 0.12，< 0.05）。我们的研究结果强调了社会层面对于保护古老森林的重要性。我们鼓励森林管理应考虑土著人民及其文化智慧的作用，以更好地保护和恢复退化的生态系统。