Around three years ago, a paper was published in the Journal of Biogeography exploring mountain ranges as a possible save haven for alpine plant species that were threatened by human induced climate change. It went on to discuss how the habitat diversity of mountains could provide 'refugia' habitats (habitats that can help species persistence during long term climate change), which made this a vital discovery for conservation efforts (Scherrer et al. 2010). Scouring the internet today for a blog topic I came across a recent paper which had almost the exact same focus as Scherrer et al. (2010) but this time looking at the possibility of refugia habitats globally.
In the new study, Schut et al. (2014) highlights that considerable changes in the distribution and ecology of ecosystems are likely to be ongoing over the coming decades in response to anthropogenic climate change. The paper suggests it has found a way to project future habitat locations using LIDAR to measure changes in rainfall. With a strong correlation found between vegetation type, soil depth and rainfall, Schut et al. 2014 states that predicting future changes in rainfall could pinpoint potential refugial sites for threatened biodiversity. Throughout most of my blog research, what I have yet to come across is a 'fix' to the problems the anthropocene is imposing on Earth's ecosystems. Are refugia habitats that fix? With habitat refugia in its fledging stages (NCCARF, n/d), I am interested to see how likely it is that these habitats, will one day, form part of a critical climate change adaptation strategy.
Score Board Update: Anthropocene 7- 5 Biodiversity
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