Temporal patterns and factors influencing vertebrate roadkill in China

Abstract

There have been few studies of vertebrate roadkill in China, and the lack of long-term, large-scale, and multiple-species monitoring and data have made it difficult for transportation departments to make science-based decisions. The 13 highways in the Changbai Mountains of northeast China were selected for 13 years of monitoring. The results showed that there were a total of 13, 309 vertebrate roadkill belonging to 91 species with a roadkill rate of 6.35 ± 2.41 per 100 km per day. The vertebrate roadkill rate recorded on walking and cycling surveys was 8.4 times higher than that of driving surveys. We estimate the roadkill number of the Changbai Mountain area will reach 37,120 ± 14,100 by 2030. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for proposing roadkill mitigation measures, and also provide a baseline for comparison with future roadkill monitoring results in Changbai Mountain area.