Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity Conservation

Climate change is altering temperature regimes, precipitation patterns and the frequency of extreme events, with cascading effects on species distributions, community composition and ecosystem function. Many taxa are shifting their ranges poleward or to higher elevations in response to warming, while phenological mismatches disrupt ecological interactions such as pollination and predation. More frequent droughts, storms and heatwaves are undermining habitat quality and reducing the resilience of populations. These changes, in combination with land-use change and invasive species, amplify extinction risks and erode ecosystem services. Conservation strategies must therefore integrate dynamic climate projections, ecological and physiological thresholds, and adaptive management to sustain biodiversity. Actions range from optimising protected-area networks and enhancing habitat connectivity to identifying and managing climate refugia. A synthesis of global assessments and emerging methods highlights the need for cross-scale planning, novel metrics of ecological stability and collaboration between scientists, policymakers and local communities to safeguard nature under a changing climate.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have used distributional data for over 14,000 amphibian and reptile species to evaluate the effectiveness of existing protected areas under future climate scenarios. Results indicate that these reserves will retain the majority of herpetofaunal diversity, although significant gaps persist outside tropical and subtropical forests. Optimisation of reserve boundaries is advised to close these gaps and reduce extinction risk. In parallel, a new approach transforms ambient and projected climates into ‘phytoclimates’ by integrating ecophysiological growth models for more than 135,000 vascular plants. This framework forecasts where novel and disappearing phytoclimates will emerge by 2070, offering refined spatial priorities for conservation action beyond traditional climate-exposure indices.

Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity Conservation publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in climate change impacts on biodiversity conservation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Protected area: A geographically defined region designated for the long-term conservation of biodiversity and natural resources.

Phytoclimate: A classification of climates based on their capacity to support particular plant growth forms and associated ecosystems.

Climate refugia: Areas that remain relatively buffered from contemporary climate change, providing safe havens for species persistence.

Ecological integrity: The degree to which an ecosystem’s composition, structure and functions reflect those of natural, undisturbed systems.

Habitat connectivity: The extent to which landscapes facilitate movement and gene flow among wildlife populations.

References

1. Global Protected Areas as refuges for amphibians and reptiles under climate change. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Priorities for embedding ecological integrity in climate adaptation policy and practice. One Earth (2023).
3. A resilient and connected network of sites to sustain biodiversity under a changing climate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2023).
4. Shifting the conservation paradigm: a synthesis of options for renovating nature under climate change. Ecological Monographs (2019).