Correction: Managing Climate Change Refugia for Climate Adaptation.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159909.]

Managing climate change refugia for climate adaptation

Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable persistence of valued physical, ecological, and socio-cultural resources. We differentiate historical and contemporary views, and characterize physical and ecological processes that create and maintain climate change refugia. We then delineate how refugia can fit into existing decision support frameworks for climate adaptation and describe seven steps for managing them. Finally, we identify challenges and opportunities for operationalizing the concept of climate change refugia. Managing climate change refugia can be an important option for conservation in the face of ongoing climate change

Relief from summer warming: Devils Postpile National Monument’s cold air pool supports a refugium-based conservation strategy

Cold air pooling (CAP) occurs in low-lying areas where cold, dense air collects during nighttime hours, producing colder temperatures than surrounding higher elevations. Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO) is confined by steep mountain ridges, which promote cold air drainage into lower-elevation meadows and river valleys. These low lying areas where CAP occurs could help facilitate a potential refugium from some of the greatest impacts of regional climate warming. A strong focus on CAP occurrence is part of a seven-step climate change refugia conservation cycle, outlined in Morelli et al. (2016), that DEPO has instituted, wherein resource management seeks to identify and focus on parts of the landscape that may be sheltered from the intensity and pace of rapid climate change. Locales that harbor persistent CAP may provide vulnerable species and ecosystems a sort of refuge, allowing more time to adapt to new conditions. Central to DEPO’s strategy is better monitoring and understanding of CAP occurrence. Based on observations from 10 years of temperature loggers in and around DEPO, CAP operates reliably throughout the year, and especially during summer. Importantly, CAP has occurred strongly during recent unusually warm years. These findings reinforce the value of monitoring and ongoing analysis as a way to guide conservation and adaptation using potential climate change refugia. As with this co-developed park–university investigation, other land managers could consider climate refugia-oriented management as a viable conservation and adaptation strategy

Relief from summer warming: Devils Postpile National Monument’s cold air pool supports a refugium-based conservation strategy

Cold air pooling (CAP) occurs in low-lying areas where cold, dense air collects during nighttime hours, producing colder temperatures than surrounding higher elevations. Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO) is confined by steep mountain ridges, which promote cold air drainage into lower-elevation meadows and river valleys. These low lying areas where CAP occurs could help facilitate a potential refugium from some of the greatest impacts of regional climate warming. A strong focus on CAP occurrence is part of a seven-step climate change refugia conservation cycle, outlined in Morelli et al. (2016), that DEPO has instituted, wherein resource management seeks to identify and focus on parts of the landscape that may be sheltered from the intensity and pace of rapid climate change. Locales that harbor persistent CAP may provide vulnerable species and ecosystems a sort of refuge, allowing more time to adapt to new conditions. Central to DEPO’s strategy is better monitoring and understanding of CAP occurrence. Based on observations from 10 years of temperature loggers in and around DEPO, CAP operates reliably throughout the year, and especially during summer. Importantly, CAP has occurred strongly during recent unusually warm years. These findings reinforce the value of monitoring and ongoing analysis as a way to guide conservation and adaptation using potential climate change refugia. As with this co-developed park–university investigation, other land managers could consider climate refugia-oriented management as a viable conservation and adaptation strategy

Air Quality at Devils Postpile National Monument, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA

Ambient concentrations of O3, PM2.5, NH3, NO, NO2, HNO3, SO2 and VOCs were measured at Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO) during the summer seasons of 2013 and 2014. The measurements were impacted by the Aspen and Rim Fires in 2013, and the French and King Fires in 2014. While O3 concentrations were not discernibly perturbed by the fire events, the 70 ppb threshold (8-hour average) corresponding to both the current California Ambient Air Quality Standard (CAAQS) and the new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) was exceeded on five days during 2013, and on 16 days during 2014. The older NAAQS of 75 ppb (8-hour average) was exceeded once in 2013, and six times in 2014. Exceedances of the CAAQS or NAAQS occurred when background sources of O3 were augmented by regional-scale transport, at higher altitudes, of polluted air masses that had passed through the San Joaquin Valley before arriving at the DEPO site. The 2013 Aspen Fire elevated PM2.5to a maximum hourly concentration of 214 µg m–3 and a maximum 24 h mean of 92.7 µg m–3, and resulted in 13 exceedances of the 35 µg m–3 (24 h average) NAAQS for PM2.5. The 2013 Rim Fire increased PM2.5 to a maximum hourly concentration of 132 µg m–3 and a maximum 24 h mean of 69.6 µg m–3, and resulted in two exceedances of the 24 h NAAQS. Concentrations of NH3 increased during all fires, as did those of NO2 during the Aspen and Rim Fires. Concentrations of benzene increased substantially during the French Fire

Correction: Managing Climate Change Refugia for Climate Adaptation.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159909.]

Managing Climate Change Refugia for Climate Adaptation.

Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable persistence of valued physical, ecological, and socio-cultural resources. We differentiate historical and contemporary views, and characterize physical and ecological processes that create and maintain climate change refugia. We then delineate how refugia can fit into existing decision support frameworks for climate adaptation and describe seven steps for managing them. Finally, we identify challenges and opportunities for operationalizing the concept of climate change refugia. Managing climate change refugia can be an important option for conservation in the face of ongoing climate change

Managing Climate Change Refugia for Climate Adaptation.

Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable persistence of valued physical, ecological, and socio-cultural resources. We differentiate historical and contemporary views, and characterize physical and ecological processes that create and maintain climate change refugia. We then delineate how refugia can fit into existing decision support frameworks for climate adaptation and describe seven steps for managing them. Finally, we identify challenges and opportunities for operationalizing the concept of climate change refugia. Managing climate change refugia can be an important option for conservation in the face of ongoing climate change