Understanding fire refugia and its interactions with other stressors, poses extreme challenges to biodiversity conservation. An important and potentially efficient adaptation strategy will be the identification and protection of natural refugia that buffer biodiversity from the rate and magnitude of regional change. The most familiar examples of refugia are those unglaciated areas where displaced species persisted during periods of high glacial activity through the Pleistocene, but potential refugia for some species exist in contemporary landscapes. These areas often represent microclimates associated with particular positions within or near an enduring feature, such as mountains or large lakes, or in highly variable terrain. The goal of our research is to identify in situ refugia modulated by local processes that can effectively modify habitats at landscape scales under changing environments.