New map shows areas in the world most sensitive to climate changeLondon, Feb 22(AZINS) Scientists have developed a new method to map the areas most sensitive to climate variability across the world, by using information gathered by satellites.

An international team of researchers identified climate drivers of vegetation productivity on monthly timescales. They found climate sensitivity in ecosystems around the globe. "We have found ecologically sensitive regions with amplified responses to climate variability in the Arctic tundra, parts of the boreal forest belt, the tropical rainforest, alpine regions worldwide, steppe and prairie regions of central Asia and North and South America, forests in South America, and eastern areas of Australia," said Alistair Seddon from from University of Bergen (UiB) in Norway.

Researchers developed a metric called the Vegetation Sensitivity Index (VSI), which allows a more quantifiable response to climate change challenges and how sensitive different ecosystems are to short-term climate anomalies. The index supplements previous methods for monitoring and evaluating the condition of ecosystems.

"Our study provides a quantitative methodology for assessing the relative response rate of ecosystems - either natural ones or those with a strong anthropogenic footprint, to climate variability," said Seddon. For the study, researchers used satellite data from 2000 to 2013.

"First of all, the method identifies which climate-related variables - such as temperature, water availability, and cloudiness - are important for controlling productivity in a given location," said Seddon. "Then we compare the variability in ecosystem productivity, which we also obtain from satellite data, against the variability in the important climate variables," he added.

VSI provides an additional vegetation metric that can be used to assess the status of ecosystems globally scale. "Based on the satellite data gathered, we can identify areas that, over the past 14 years, have shown high sensitivity to climate variability," Seddon added.

The findings were published in the journal Nature.