Structure and Functioning of Dryland Ecosystems in a Changing World

Understanding how drylands respond to ongoing environmental change is extremely important for global sustainability. In this review, we discuss how biotic attributes, climate, grazing pressure, land cover change, and nitrogen deposition affect the functioning of drylands at multiple spatial scales....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of ecology, evolution, and systematics evolution, and systematics, 2016-11, Vol.47 (1), p.215-237
Main Authors: Maestre, Fernando T, Eldridge, David J, Soliveres, Santiago, Kéfi, Sonia, Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Bowker, Matthew A, García-Palacios, Pablo, Gaitán, Juan, Gallardo, Antonio, Lázaro, Roberto, Berdugo, Miguel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
abiotic factors
Arid zones
biodiversity
Biodiversity and Ecology
biotic attributes
climate
Climate change
drought
Ecological function
Ecosystem resilience
Ecosystems
Environmental changes
Environmental impact
Environmental Sciences
Grasslands
Grazing
land use change
Nitrogen
Species richness
Sustainability
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Summary:Understanding how drylands respond to ongoing environmental change is extremely important for global sustainability. In this review, we discuss how biotic attributes, climate, grazing pressure, land cover change, and nitrogen deposition affect the functioning of drylands at multiple spatial scales. Our synthesis highlights the importance of biotic attributes (e.g., species richness) in maintaining fundamental ecosystem processes such as primary productivity, illustrates how nitrogen deposition and grazing pressure are impacting ecosystem functioning in drylands worldwide, and highlights the importance of the traits of woody species as drivers of their expansion in former grasslands. We also emphasize the role of attributes such as species richness and abundance in controlling the responses of ecosystem functioning to climate change. This knowledge is essential to guide conservation and restoration efforts in drylands, as biotic attributes can be actively managed at the local scale to increase ecosystem resilience to global change.
ISSN:1543-592X
1545-2069
DOI:10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-121415-032311