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


Affiliations
1 WWF Nepal Program, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal
2 Hariyo Ban Program, WWF Nepal and CARE, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, 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.

Keywords

Climate Change, Forest Ecosystems, Refugia, Landscape Conservation.
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  • Assessing Climate Change Impacts on forest Ecosystems for Landscape-Scale Spatial Planning in Nepal

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Authors

Gokarna Jung Thapa
WWF Nepal Program, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Eric Wikramanayake
Hariyo Ban Program, WWF Nepal and CARE, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Shant Raj Jnawali
Hariyo Ban Program, WWF Nepal and CARE, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Judy Oglethorpe
Hariyo Ban Program, WWF Nepal and CARE, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Ramesh Adhikari
WWF Nepal Program, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract


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.

Keywords


Climate Change, Forest Ecosystems, Refugia, Landscape Conservation.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv110%2Fi3%2F345-352