Identifying climate change hotspots relevant for ecosystems in Romania

Abstract

Studies regarding species distribution, resilience and adaptability of different ecosystems as well as the response of human society are linked with our ability to identify past and predict future changes. Climate change, together with other changes like land use, land cover and invasive alien species, are important to establish the background for further modelling approaches (e.g. species modelling, ecosystem resilience, etc.). We used high-quality and homogeneous air temperature and precipitation data sets for Romania in order to detect climate change hotspots. The changes were quantified considering 2 periods: 1961-1986 (reference) and 1987-2013 (current conditions). Bioclimatic variables were used to identify the climate change hotspots relevant for different decision makers. The identification of areas affected by significant changes may support the development of mitigation plans for enhancing the resilience and adaptive capacity of socio-economical systems to future impacts.