Assessing Climate Change Exposure for the Adaptation of Conservation Management: The Importance of Scale in Mountain Landscapes

Vulnerability of mountain ecosystems to climate change depends on the capacity topographic variation provide heterogeneous microclimates and rates climatic change. Accurate methods are therefore needed assess at spatial resolutions relevant ecological responses environmental management. Here, we evaluate a mechanistic microclimate model (30 m resolution; Microclima) mesoclimate data (1 km; CHELSA) against in situ temperatures, finding that both capture (whilst somewhat underestimating) well observed ground-level maxima along ridge 2011-13. We apply models estimate exposure recent temperature changes for four areas Iberian Peninsula, based analogous non-analogous monthly 1980–1989 versus 2010–2019. The revealed fine-resolution conditions were concealed data, although whether was greater micro- or mesoscale (and hence types organisms management decisions affected) depended context each range. Habitat type influenced microclimatic exposure, may opportunities conservation adaptation. These results suggest potentially useful tools permit understanding biodiversity ecosystems.