RT Journal Article
T1 Grazing Modulates the Multiscale Spatial Structure of Dryland Vegetation
A1 Pichon, Benoît
A1 Kéfi, Sonia
A1 Gounand, Isabelle
A1 Gross, Nicolas
A1 Le Bagousse‐Pinguet, Yoann
A1 Guerber, Josquin
A1 Eldridge, David
A1 Valencia Gómez, Enrique
A1 Plaza, César
A1 Martínez‐Valderrama, Jaime
A1 Saiz, Hugo
A1 Ochoa, Victoria
A1 Gozalo, Beatriz
A1 Guirado, Emilio
A1 García‐Gómez, Miguel
A1 Gaitán, Juan J.
A1 Asensio, Sergio
A1 Mendoza, Betty Josefina
A1 Donnet, Sophie
A1 Maestre, Fernando T.
AB Plants can facilitate their local environment and create a two-phase spatial structure of vegetation and bare soil in drylands, which largely influences ecosystem functioning. Although an increasing number of studies have examined how global change drivers like aridity influence vegetation spatial structure in drylands (e.g., the patch size distribution), it remains unclear how grazing impacts differ from those of climatic gradients, how these effects vary with herbivore feeding habits, and which plant-level traits—such as size and life form—mediate these spatial responses. Here, we coupled spatial vegetation pattern analyses of ecosystem images with field data analyses of the size distribution and dominant life forms of plants from 326 plots sampled across 25 countries and six continents to explore the effects of herbivores on the spatial structure of dryland vegetation. The effects of herbivores on vegetation spatial structure were opposite to the effects of aridity. Specifically, vegetation in grazed areas was clustered into larger patches, with fewer small patches, which skewed the patch-size distribution towards larger patches. These effects differed between browsing and grazing herbivores. Grazing effects were partially explained by the fact that grazing reduced average plant size, increased shrub density, and promoted facilitation among species of contrasting sizes. Similar effects were also confirmed by using model simulations that accounted for positive plant interactions. By linking remotely sensed images, a global field survey, and a mathematical model, our study uncovers the species-level mechanisms by which herbivores shape ecosystem-level spatial patterns and provides insights into the consequence of herbivory pressure on the resilience of drylands.
PB Wiley
SN 1354-1013
YR 2025
FD 2025-07
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123558
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123558
LA eng
NO Pichon, B., S. Kéfi, I. Gounand, et al. 2025. “ Grazing Modulates the Multiscale Spatial Structure of Dryland Vegetation.” Global Change Biology 31, no. 7: e70345. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70345.
NO This research benefited from the support of the Chair Modelisation Mathématique et Biodiversite VEOLIA~Ecole Polytechnique~MNHN~F-X. The BIODESERT global survey was funded by the European Research Council (ERC Grant agreement 647038). FTM acknowledges support by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the KAUST Climate and Livability Initiative. D.E. is supported by the Hermon Slade Foundation.
NO Chair Modelisation Mathématique et Biodiversite
NO European Commission
NO King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
NO Hermon Slade Raiatea Foundation
DS Docta Complutense
RD 25 dic 2025