Conserving climate‐change refugia: Insights from research and practice
Abstract As the impacts of anthropogenic climate change increase, conservation of climate‐change refugia has become a key strategy for effective environmental stewardship. Over the last 5 years, the field of climate‐change refugia conservation has made exciting advances, shifting from concepts and theory to refugia mapping and implementation. However, few studies have advanced to action on the ground; while 84% of studies identified and mapped refugia, only 4% involved implementing management action. Moreover, taxonomic and geographic gaps remain, with most studies focused on terrestrial plants and vertebrates in Europe and North America. Here, we outline impediments to implementation following the steps of the Climate‐Change Refugia Conservation Cycle. Based on a systematic literature review, we elucidate advances and obstacles with examples from a diversity of systems and sectors from across the world and highlight emerging work bridging the gap between research and implementation.
Authors
- Lauren M. Lyon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8238-8637)
- Rachel A. Hovel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3452-9485)
- Sandra Słowińska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4233-7384)
- Toni Lyn Morelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5865-5294)
- Man Hua (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7423-6409)
- Megan K. Jennings (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3707-851X)
- James H. Thorne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9130-9921)
- Diana Stralberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4900-024X)
- Jessica Stolar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4636-2747)
- Christopher P. Nadeau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3568-0793)
- Cybil Nicole Cavalieri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6030-7862)
- Andrew J. Caven (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5482-8191)
- Tina G. Mozelewski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2207-0742)
- Gregory Kehm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9856-6325)
- Jordon C. Tourville (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4005-5914)
- Stephen F. Langdon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0490-021X)
- Meg A. Krawchuk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3240-3117)
- Gunnar Keppel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7092-6149)
- Aji John (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4401-1401)
- Garrett W. Meigs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5942-691X)
- Joshua J. Lawler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8306-3175)
- Lindsay M. Dreiss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8167-0812)
- Benjamin Zuckerberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7412-4354)
- Melissa Mora‐Gonzalez
Institutions
- Canadian Forest Service (CA)
- Natural Resources Canada (CA)
- United States Geological Survey (US)
- Appalachian Mountain Club (US)
- Washington Department of Natural Resources (US)
- Oregon State University (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- University of South Australia (AU)
- University of Maine at Farmington (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
- San Diego State University (US)
- Geoscience BC (CA)
- World Wildlife Fund (US)
- Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
- Schoodic Institute (US)
- Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (US)
- Conservation Science Partners (US)
- International Crane Foundation (US)
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York (US)
- Climate Adaptation Science Centers (US)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Conservation Science and Practice
- Published
- 2025-12-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.70160
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.51