To protect the biodiversity of flatlands against the effects of climate change (M. W. Tingley et al. Nature 500, 271–272; 2013), we need strategies to buy time for species to adapt to warmer environments or to move to cooler ones. This will mean adding more protected areas in cool regions and improving connectivity between protected sites.
One way to increase resilience among resident communities would be to reduce the intensity of summer grazing on flatlands. Shade from tall, dense swards helps to cool the soil by up to 5 °C (J. A. Thomas et al. Science 325, 80–83; 2009), an effect that is enhanced as the land becomes more uneven (J. Settele and E. Kühn Science 325, 41–42; 2009).
Conservation measures in existing protected sites, as in Europe's Natura 2000 programme (see go.nature.com/ykf7vt), remain important but may prove inadequate on their own and will need to be adapted and revivified as the climate warms.
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Settele, J., Kühn, I. & Thomas, J. Safeguard species in warming flatlands. Nature 502, 303 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/502303c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/502303c