Assessing Climate Change Impacts on forest Ecosystems for Landscape-Scale Spatial Planning in Nepal

Global climate change is affecting biodiversity and ecological processes. We coupled a general circulation model that uses global datasets with terrain-based analyses to identify potential climate refugia in two conservation landscapes in Nepal for climate changeintegrated conservation planning. The results indicate that lower and mid-montane forests are vulnerable to climate change, but the temperate upper montane and subalpine forests are more resilient and represent macrorefugia. However, the terrain-based analysis indicates persistence of climate microrefugia in the lower and mid-mountains. Conservation strategies should prioritize the larger climate-resilient forests as macrorefugia, but also include the microrefugia in landscape conservation plans.