TY - JOUR
T1 - Oases of the future? Springs as potential hydrologic refugia in drying climates
AU - Cartwright, Jennifer M.
AU - Dwire, Kathleen A.
AU - Freed, Zach
AU - Hammer, Samantha J.
AU - McLaughlin, Blair
AU - Misztal, Louise W.
AU - Schenk, Edward R.
AU - Spence, John R.
AU - Springer, Abraham E.
AU - Stevens, Lawrence E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of the Ecological Society of America.
PY - 2020/6/1
Y1 - 2020/6/1
N2 - Natural springs in water-limited landscapes are biodiversity hotspots and keystone ecosystems that have a disproportionate influence on surrounding landscapes despite their usually small size. Some springs served as evolutionary refugia during previous climate drying, supporting relict species in isolated habitats. Understanding whether springs will provide hydrologic refugia from future climate change is important to biodiversity conservation but is complicated by hydrologic variability among springs, data limitations, and multiple non-climate threats to groundwater-dependent ecosystems. We present a conceptual framework for categorizing springs as potentially stable, relative, or transient hydrologic refugia in a drying climate. Clues about the refugial capacity of springs can be assembled from various approaches, including citizen-science-powered ecohydrologic monitoring, remote sensing, landowner interviews, and environmental tracer analysis. Managers can integrate multiple lines of evidence to predict which springs may become future refugia for species of concern, strengthening the long-term effectiveness of their conservation and restoration, and informing climate adaptation for terrestrial and freshwater species.
AB - Natural springs in water-limited landscapes are biodiversity hotspots and keystone ecosystems that have a disproportionate influence on surrounding landscapes despite their usually small size. Some springs served as evolutionary refugia during previous climate drying, supporting relict species in isolated habitats. Understanding whether springs will provide hydrologic refugia from future climate change is important to biodiversity conservation but is complicated by hydrologic variability among springs, data limitations, and multiple non-climate threats to groundwater-dependent ecosystems. We present a conceptual framework for categorizing springs as potentially stable, relative, or transient hydrologic refugia in a drying climate. Clues about the refugial capacity of springs can be assembled from various approaches, including citizen-science-powered ecohydrologic monitoring, remote sensing, landowner interviews, and environmental tracer analysis. Managers can integrate multiple lines of evidence to predict which springs may become future refugia for species of concern, strengthening the long-term effectiveness of their conservation and restoration, and informing climate adaptation for terrestrial and freshwater species.
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U2 - 10.1002/fee.2191
DO - 10.1002/fee.2191
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85074259103
SN - 1540-9295
VL - 18
SP - 245
EP - 253
JO - Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
JF - Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
IS - 5
ER -