[A new category system of China nature reserves based on their attributes].

Based on the numeric attributes of 114 typical nature reserves in China, a new category system was established by using cluster analysis method. Compared with the China national category system of nature reserves, the new category system was simpler and more applicable. The 4 categories in the new system matched well to the categories I , II , IV, and V in IUCN category system, respectively. The new category system, characterized by the consistency of category criteria and scale, could avoid the deviation caused by subjective category to some degree, and provide a quantitative standard for the classification of nature reserves in China.