Read the full story at Anthropocene Magazine.
Just as humans head indoors for warmth in the winter and shade in the summer, tree-dwelling animals use the arboreal equivalent of caves for refuge from temperature extremes.
At a time when climate change is supercharging heatwaves, holes and crevices in trees offer potentially life-saving cool spots for bats, birds and other creatures around the world, according to new research. When peak temperatures cross into heatwave territory, these holes are often more than 4°C cooler than the outside, according to a review of dozens of studies recently published in Forest Ecology and Management.
See also
Cotten, K. A., Crawford, R. D., & O’Keefe, J. M. (2026). A global review of the capacity of tree cavities to buffer temperature extremes. Forest Ecology and Management, 620, 124180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2026.124180