Nature Climate Change (2013) doi:10.1038/nclimate2007

Identification of spatial gradients in ecosystem vulnerability to global climate change and local stressors is an important step in the formulation and implementation of appropriate countermeasures. Here we build on recent work to map ecoregional exposure to future climate, using an envelope-based gauge of future climate stability—defined as a measure of how similar the future climate of a region will be to the present climate. We incorporate an assessment of each ecoregion’s adaptive capacity, based on spatial analysis of its natural integrity—the proportion of intact natural vegetation—to present a measure of global ecosystem vulnerability. The relationship between intactness (adaptive capacity) and stability (exposure) varies widely across ecoregions, with some of the most vulnerable, according to this measure, located in southern and southeastern Asia, western and central Europe, eastern South America and southern Australia. To ensure the applicability of these findings to conservation, we provide a matrix that highlights the potential implications of this vulnerability assessment for adaptation planning and offers a spatially explicit management guide.

Mapping vulnerability and conservation adaptation strategies under climate change