Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 36-59 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Diversity |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Feb 2015 |
Abstract
It is crucial to define and quantify possible impacts of climate change on wildlife in order to be able to pre-adapt management strategies for nature conservation. Thus, it is necessary to assess which species might be affected by climatic changes, especially at the regional scale. We present a novel approach to estimate possible climate change induced turnovers in bird communities and apply this method to Lüneburg Heath, a region in northern Germany. By comparing species pools of future climatically analogous regions situated in France with the Lüneburg Heath species pool, we detected possible trends for alterations within the regional bird community in the course of climate change. These analyses showed that the majority of bird species in Lüneburg Heath will probably be able to tolerate the projected future climate conditions, but that bird species richness, in general, may decline. Species that might leave the community were often significantly associated with inland wetland habitats, but the proportion of inland wetlands within the regions had a significant influence on the magnitude of this effect. Our results suggest that conservation efforts in wetlands have to be strengthened in light of climate change because many species are, in principle, able to tolerate future climate conditions if sufficient habitat is available.
Keywords
- Analogous climates, Breeding birds, Climate change projections, Lüneburg Heath, Lüneburger Heide, Nature conservation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecology
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecological Modelling
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Environmental Science(all)
- Nature and Landscape Conservation
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Diversity, Vol. 7, No. 1, 16.02.2015, p. 36-59.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing climate change induced turnover in bird communities using climatically analogous regions
AU - Sybertz, Janine
AU - Reich, Michael
PY - 2015/2/16
Y1 - 2015/2/16
N2 - It is crucial to define and quantify possible impacts of climate change on wildlife in order to be able to pre-adapt management strategies for nature conservation. Thus, it is necessary to assess which species might be affected by climatic changes, especially at the regional scale. We present a novel approach to estimate possible climate change induced turnovers in bird communities and apply this method to Lüneburg Heath, a region in northern Germany. By comparing species pools of future climatically analogous regions situated in France with the Lüneburg Heath species pool, we detected possible trends for alterations within the regional bird community in the course of climate change. These analyses showed that the majority of bird species in Lüneburg Heath will probably be able to tolerate the projected future climate conditions, but that bird species richness, in general, may decline. Species that might leave the community were often significantly associated with inland wetland habitats, but the proportion of inland wetlands within the regions had a significant influence on the magnitude of this effect. Our results suggest that conservation efforts in wetlands have to be strengthened in light of climate change because many species are, in principle, able to tolerate future climate conditions if sufficient habitat is available.
AB - It is crucial to define and quantify possible impacts of climate change on wildlife in order to be able to pre-adapt management strategies for nature conservation. Thus, it is necessary to assess which species might be affected by climatic changes, especially at the regional scale. We present a novel approach to estimate possible climate change induced turnovers in bird communities and apply this method to Lüneburg Heath, a region in northern Germany. By comparing species pools of future climatically analogous regions situated in France with the Lüneburg Heath species pool, we detected possible trends for alterations within the regional bird community in the course of climate change. These analyses showed that the majority of bird species in Lüneburg Heath will probably be able to tolerate the projected future climate conditions, but that bird species richness, in general, may decline. Species that might leave the community were often significantly associated with inland wetland habitats, but the proportion of inland wetlands within the regions had a significant influence on the magnitude of this effect. Our results suggest that conservation efforts in wetlands have to be strengthened in light of climate change because many species are, in principle, able to tolerate future climate conditions if sufficient habitat is available.
KW - Analogous climates
KW - Breeding birds
KW - Climate change projections
KW - Lüneburg Heath
KW - Lüneburger Heide
KW - Nature conservation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84925427648&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/d7010036
DO - 10.3390/d7010036
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84925427648
VL - 7
SP - 36
EP - 59
JO - Diversity
JF - Diversity
IS - 1
ER -