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oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/1199052025-05-07T17:13:09Zcom_20.500.14352_14col_20.500.14352_15

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Eldridge, David J. author Ding, Jingyi author Dorrough, Josh author Delgado Baquerizo, Manuel author Sala, Osvaldo author Gross, Nicolas author Le Bagousse Pinguet, Yoann author Mallen Cooper, Max author Saiz, Hugo author Asensio, Sergio author Ochoa, Victoria author Gozalo, Beatriz author Guirado, Emilio author García Gómez, Miguel author Valencia Gómez, Enrique author Martínez Valderrama, Jaime author Plaza, César author Abedi, Mehdi author Ahmadian, Negar author Ahumada, Rodrigo J. author Alcántara, Julio M. author Amghar, Fateh author Azevedo, Luísa author Ben Salem, Farah author Berdugo Vega, Miguel author Blaum, Niels author Boldgiv, Bazartseren author Bowker, Matthew author Bran, Donaldo author Bu, Chongfeng author Canessa, Rafaella author Castillo Monroy, Andrea P. author Castro, Ignacio author Castro Quezada, Patricio author Cesarz, Simone author Chibani, Roukaya author Conceição, Abel Augusto author Darrouzet Nardi, Anthony author Davila, Yvonne C. author Deák, Balázs author Díaz Martínez, Paloma author Donoso, David A. author Dougill, Andrew David author Durán, Jorge author Eisenhauer, Nico author Ejtehadi, Hamid author Espinosa, Carlos Ivan author Fajardo, Alex author Farzam, Mohammad author Foronda, Ana author Franzese, Jorgelina author Fraser, Lauchlan H. author Gaitán, Juan author Geissler, Katja author Gonzalez, Sofía Laura author Gusman Montalvan, Elizabeth author Hernández, Rosa Mary author Hölzel, Norbert author Hughes, Frederic Mendes author Jadan, Oswaldo author Jentsch, Anke author Ju, Mengchen author Kaseke, Kudzai F. author Köbel, Melanie author Lehmann, Anika author Liancourt, Pierre author Linstädter, Anja author Louw, Michelle A. author Ma, Quanhui author Mabaso, Mancha author Maggs-Kölling, Gillian author Makhalanyane, Thulani P. author Issa, Oumarou Malam author Marais, Eugene author McClaran, Mitchel author Mendoza, Betty author Mokoka, Vincent author Mora, Juan P. author Moreno, Gerardo author Munson, Seth author Nunes, Alice author Oliva, Gabriel author Oñatibia, Gastón R. author Osborne, Brooke author Peter, Guadalupe author Pierre, Margerie author Pueyo, Yolanda author Emiliano Quiroga, R. author Reed, Sasha author Rey, Ana author Rey, Pedro author Gómez, Víctor Manuel Reyes author Rolo, Víctor author Rillig, Matthias C. author Le Roux, Peter C. author Ruppert, Jan Christian author Salah, Ayman author Sebei, Phokgedi Julius author Sharkhuu, Anarmaa author Stavi, Ilan author Stephens, Colton author López Teixido, Alberto author Thomas, Andrew David author Tielbörger, Katja author Robles, Silvia Torres author Travers, Samantha author Valkó, Orsolya author van den Brink, Liesbeth author Velbert, Frederike author von Heßberg, Andreas author Wamiti, Wanyoike author Wang, Deli author Wang, Lixin author Wardle, Glenda M. author Yahdjian, Laura author Zaady, Eli author Zhang, Yuanming author Zhou, Xiaobing author Maestre, Fernando T. author 2024-04 Perennial plants create productive and biodiverse hotspots, known as fertile islands, beneath their canopies. These hotspots largely determine the structure and functioning of drylands worldwide. Despite their ubiquity, the factors controlling fertile islands under conditions of contrasting grazing by livestock, the most prevalent land use in drylands, remain virtually unknown. Here we evaluated the relative importance of grazing pressure and herbivore type, climate and plant functional traits on 24 soil physical and chemical attributes that represent proxies of key ecosystem services related to decomposition, soil fertility, and soil and water conservation. To do this, we conducted a standardized global survey of 288 plots at 88 sites in 25 countries worldwide. We show that aridity and plant traits are the major factors associated with the magnitude of plant effects on fertile islands in grazed drylands worldwide. Grazing pressure had little influence on the capacity of plants to support fertile islands. Taller and wider shrubs and grasses supported stronger island effects. Stable and functional soils tended to be linked to species-rich sites with taller plants. Together, our findings dispel the notion that grazing pressure or herbivore type are linked to the formation or intensification of fertile islands in drylands. Rather, our study suggests that changes in aridity, and processes that alter island identity and therefore plant traits, will have marked effects on how perennial plants support and maintain the functioning of drylands in a more arid and grazed world. Eldridge, D.J., Ding, J., Dorrough, J. et al. Hotspots of biogeochemical activity linked to aridity and plant traits across global drylands. Nat. Plants 10, 760–770 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01670-7 2055-026X 10.1038/s41477-024-01670-7 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/119905 2055-0278 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01670-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-024-01670-7#Abs1 Hotspots of biogeochemical activity linked to aridity and plant traits across global drylands