Abstract

The footprint of climate change has been documented through shifts in species distributions, with predictions of major negative impacts on biodiversity. In a rapidly changing world, protected areas may represent crucial buffers against the compounded effects of climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation. Aleksi will present examples of how bird communities in Europe and North America have changed over time in relation to climate change. He will also present a case study from Finland, comparing changes in bird densities inside and outside protected areas. The results show that protected areas mitigate the decline of species retracting to higher latitudes and altitude, and facilitate the northward expansion of reliant species. A final case study evaluates if larger protected areas, or higher connectivity of the protected areas, can mitigate climate driven changes in species community.