Response to concerns raised about the likelihood of protected areas serving as steppingstones for species responding to climate change

Abstract

Our recent contribution to Global Change Biology found that, globally, two-thirds of protected area units and over half of protected land area are unlikely to serve as steppingstones for many species under a warming climate (Parks et al., 2023). In response, Gillingham and Thomas (2023) point to previous evidence that protected areas have acted as steppingstones based on three studies from Great Britain that examined range shifts.Original publication: Parks, Sean A.; Holsinger, Lisa M.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Littlefield, Caitlin E.; Zeller, Katherine A. 2023. Protected areas not likely to serve as steppingstones for species undergoing climate-induced range shifts. Global Change Biology. 29: 2681-2696. https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/65894.

Citation

Parks, Sean A.; Holsinger, Lisa M.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Littlefield, Caitlin E.; Zeller, Katherine A. 2023. Response to concerns raised about the likelihood of protected areas serving as steppingstones for species responding to climate change. Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16940.