Principal Investigator(s)
- Jeffrey Brawn, Illinois University Urbana-Champaign
- Cory Suski, Illinois University Urbana-Champaign
- Yisa Ginath Yuh, Illinois University Urbana-Champaign
The inevitability of climate-related environmental change has motivated interest in identifying places where ecological systems and biodiversity will be buffered, and hopefully persist, under likely climate scenarios. Establishing the extent and locations of these “climate refugia” (from local to landscape-regional scales) is now recognized as essential for advancing the science and practice of climate adaptation.
An especially important issue for adaptation planning is the degree to which existing or planned protected lands and waterways will suffice as climate refugia moving forward. This synthesis project will take spatial analyses of likely climate change in the MW CASC region, define the criteria for climate refugia under this change, and provide a detailed account of where plausible climate refugia will be in the future. The project team will use an integrative approach with a focus not only on natural resources and ecological processes, but also cultural values and historical legacies.