{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "10.1016/j.agee.2009.07.001", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:14:59Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2009-07-31", "title": "Tillage And Cropping Effects On Soil Organic Carbon In Mediterranean Semiarid Agroecosystems: Testing The Century Model", "description": "Open AccessPeer reviewed", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Soil organic carbon", "13. Climate action", "Dryland agroecosystems", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Semiarid Spain", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Simulation modeling", "Tillage"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2009.07.001"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Agriculture%2C%20Ecosystems%20%26amp%3B%20Environment", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.agee.2009.07.001", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.agee.2009.07.001", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.agee.2009.07.001"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2009-12-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1007/s10021-020-00497-5", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:14:29Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-03-30", "title": "Biocrusts Modulate Responses of Nitrous Oxide and Methane Soil Fluxes to Simulated Climate Change in a Mediterranean Dryland", "description": "Little is known about the role of biocrusts in regulating the responses of N2O and CH4 fluxes to climate change in drylands. Here, we aim to help filling this knowledge gap by using an 8-year field experiment in central Spain where temperature and rainfall are being manipulated (~\u20091.9\u00b0C warming, 33% rainfall reduction and their combination) in areas with and without well-developed biocrust communities. Areas with initial high cover of well-developed biocrusts showed lower N2O emissions, enhanced CH4 uptake and higher abundances of functional genes linked to N2O and CH4 fluxes compared with areas with poorly developed biocrusts. Moreover, biocrusts modulated the responses of gases emissions and related functional genes to warming and rainfall reductions. Specifically, we found under rainfall exclusion and its combination with warming a sharp reduction in N2O fluxes (~\u200996% and ~\u2009197%, respectively) only under well-developed biocrust cover. Warming and its combination with rainfall exclusion reduced CH4 consumption in areas with initial low cover of well-developed biocrust, whereas rainfall exclusion enhanced CH4 uptake only in areas with high initial cover of well-developed biocrusts. Similarly, the combination of warming and rainfall exclusion increased the abundance of the nosZ gene compared to the rainfall exclusion treatment and increased the abundance of the pmoA gene compared to the control, but only in areas with low biocrust cover. Taken together, our results indicate that well-developed biocrust communities could counteract the impact of warming and altered rainfall patterns on soil N2O and CH4 fluxes, highlighting their importance and the need to preserve them to minimize climate change impacts on drylands. A. L. is supported by a FPI fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BES-2014-067831). M.D-B. acknowledges support from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 under REA Grant Agreement No. 702057 (CLIMIFUN) and the BES Grant Agreement No. LRA17 1193 (MUSGONET). J.D acknowledges support from the Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia (IF/00950/2014) and the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and COMPETE 2020 (UID/BIA/04004/2013). This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC Grant Agreements 242658 [BIOCOM] and 647038 [BIODESERT]), by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BIOMOD project, ref. CGL2013-44661-R and AGL2015-64582-C3-3-R project) and by the Comunidad de Madrid and European Structural and Investment Funds (AGRISOST-CM S2013/ABI-2717). F.T.M. acknowledges support from Generalitat Valenciana (BIOMORES project, ref. CIDEGENT/2018/041). B.K.S research on the topic of biodiversity and ecosystem functions is funded by Australian Research Council (DP170104634).", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "2. Zero hunger", "0303 health sciences", "arid regions", "Nitrous oxide", "nitrous oxide", "Mediterranean Region", "methane", "Ecolog\u00eda", "15. Life on land", "climatic changes", "Dryland", "03 medical and health sciences", "Methanotrophs", "13. Climate action", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Biocrust", "crust vegetation", "Denitrifiers", "denitrifying bacteria", "Methane"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10021-020-00497-5.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-020-00497-5"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Ecosystems", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1007/s10021-020-00497-5", "name": "item", "description": "10.1007/s10021-020-00497-5", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1007/s10021-020-00497-5"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2020-03-30T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108182", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:15:32Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2021-05-25", "title": "Global sensitivity analysis of crop yield and transpiration from the FAO-AquaCrop model for dryland environments", "description": "Open AccessPeer reviewed", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "570", "Yield", "0208 environmental biotechnology", "0207 environmental engineering", "02 engineering and technology", "15. Life on land", "630", "AquaCrop", "6. Clean water", "Transpiration", "Dryland", "13. Climate action", "Sensitivity analysis"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/449637/1/AquaCrop_GSA_rev2.pdf"}, {"href": "https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/449637/2/Lu2021_AquaCrop_GSA.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108182"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Field%20Crops%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108182", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108182", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108182"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2021-07-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1002/2014jg002635", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:14:01Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2014-11-18", "title": "Woody Plant Encroachment Into Grasslands Leads To Accelerated Erosion Of Previously Stable Organic Carbon From Dryland Soils", "description": "Abstract

Drylands worldwide are experiencing rapid and extensive environmental change, concomitant with the encroachment of woody vegetation into grasslands. Woody encroachment leads to changes in both the structure and function of dryland ecosystems and has been shown to result in accelerated soil erosion and loss of soil nutrients. Covering 40% of the terrestrial land surface, dryland environments are of global importance, both as a habitat and a soil carbon store. Relationships between environmental change, soil erosion, and the carbon cycle are uncertain. There is a clear need to further our understanding of dryland vegetation change and impacts on carbon dynamics. Here two grass\uffe2\uff80\uff90to\uffe2\uff80\uff90woody ecotones that occur across large areas of the southwestern United States are investigated. This study takes a multidisciplinary approach, combining ecohydrological monitoring of structure and function and a dual\uffe2\uff80\uff90proxy biogeochemical tracing approach using the unique natural biochemical signatures of the vegetation. Results show that following woody encroachment, not only do these drylands lose significantly more soil and organic carbon via erosion but that this includes significant amounts of legacy organic carbon which would previously have been stable under grass cover. Results suggest that these dryland soils may not act as a stable organic carbon pool, following encroachment and that accelerated erosion of carbon, driven by vegetation change, has important implications for carbon dynamics.

", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "soil erosion", "info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/550", "550", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "soil carbon pool", "13. Climate action", "biogeochemical tracing", "woody encroachment", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Geosciences", " Multidisciplinary", "dryland vegetation change", "Environmental Sciences", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/2014jg002635"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Geophysical%20Research%3A%20Biogeosciences", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1002/2014jg002635", "name": "item", "description": "10.1002/2014jg002635", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1002/2014jg002635"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2014-12-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1002/eco.1490", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:14:04Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2014-03-15", "title": "Shrub Encroachment Alters The Spatial Patterns Of Infiltration", "description": "Abstract

Encroachment of open woodlands by shrubs is a global phenomenon associated with marked changes in ecosystem structure and function. We measured sorptivity and steady\uffe2\uff80\uff90state infiltration at two supply potentials under shrubs and grasses and in their interspaces where shrubs were encroaching into grassland. Steady\uffe2\uff80\uff90state infiltration (ponded) and sorptivity were greater at the grassland than the shrubland site, and there was substantially greater infiltration under shrubs (48.2\uffe2\uff80\uff89mm\uffe2\uff80\uff89h\uffe2\uff88\uff921) and grasses (50.0\uffe2\uff80\uff89mm\uffe2\uff80\uff89h\uffe2\uff88\uff921) than the corresponding interspaces (17.0 and 32.3\uffe2\uff80\uff89mm\uffe2\uff80\uff89h\uffe2\uff88\uff921for shrubland and grassland, respectively). The difference between grasses and their interspaces was substantially less (1.5 times) than that between shrubs and their interspaces (three times). Shrub encroachment also affected the spatial patterns of infiltration. Although the autocorrelation range for shrublands coincided almost exactly with the average distance between shrub canopies (3.5\uffe2\uff80\uff89m), the range for grasslands was three times greater (1.5\uffe2\uff80\uff89m) than the mean grass canopy, indicating a greater connectivity of infiltration in the grasslands than the shrublands. Our study indicates that encroachment by shrubs does not change infiltration under individual plants. Rather, it reduces the interspace infiltration rates significantly, resulting in lower estimated site\uffe2\uff80\uff90level infiltration rates in shrublands. Our research suggests therefore that it is the shrubland interspaces that are the likely drivers of reduced infiltration rates when grasslands are encroached, rather than increase in the total cover of shrubsper se. Management strategies that result in greater retention of grass cover and minimize the level of interspace disturbances are likely to result in increased infiltration. Copyright \uffc2\uffa9 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

", "keywords": ["drylands", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "infiltration", "encroachment"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1490"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Ecohydrology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1002/eco.1490", "name": "item", "description": "10.1002/eco.1490", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1002/eco.1490"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2014-04-23T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1002/ldr.3080", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:14:08Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-07-04", "title": "A framework for scaling sustainable land management options", "description": "Abstract

Improvements in land use and management are needed at a global scale to tackle interconnected global challenges of population growth, poverty, migration, climate change, biodiversity loss, and degrading land and water resources. There are hundreds of technical options for improving the sustainability of land management and preventing or reversing degradation, but there are many sociocultural, institutional, economic, and policy barriers hindering their adoption at large scale. To tackle this challenge, the Dryland Systems Program of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification convened an expert group to consider barriers and incentives to scaling technologies, processes, policies, or institutional arrangements. The group reviewed existing frameworks for scaling sustainable land management (SLM) interventions across a range of contexts and identified eight critical actions for success: (a) plan iteratively; (b) consistently fund; (c) select SLM options for scaling based on best available evidence; (d) identify and engage with stakeholders at all scales; (e) build capacity for scaling; (f) foster institutional leadership and policy change to support scaling; (g) achieve early benefits and incentives for as many stakeholders as possible; and (h) monitor, evaluate, and communicate. Incentives for scaling were identified for the private sector, farmers and their communities, and policy makers. Based on these findings, a new action framework for scaling is presented that analyses the contexts where specific SLM interventions can be scaled, so that SLM options can be screened and adapted to these contexts, piloted and disseminated. The framework can help countries achieve land degradation neutrality.Global change is expected to reduce the provision of multiple ecosystem services in drylands, the largest biome on Earth. Understanding the relative importance of climate change and overgrazing on ecosystems services is critical for predicting the effects of global change on ecosystem well\uffe2\uff80\uff90being. We generated a system\uffe2\uff80\uff90level understanding of the effects of climate (aridity intensity) and land use intensification (herbivore grazing intensity) on four regulating ecosystem services (C\uffe2\uff80\uff90storage, N\uffe2\uff80\uff90availability and P\uffe2\uff80\uff90availability, and organic matter decomposition) and one provisioning service (plant production) in wooded drylands from eastern Australia. Climate change and grazing intensity had different effects on multiple ecosystem services. Increasing aridity from 0\uffc2\uffb719 (dry subhumid) to 0\uffc2\uffb763 (arid) had consistent suppressive effects on C\uffe2\uff80\uff90storage, N\uffe2\uff80\uff90availability, decomposition and plant biomass services, but not on P\uffe2\uff80\uff90availability. The magnitude of these suppressive effects was greater than any effects due to grazing. All sites showed evidence of kangaroo grazing, but the heaviest grazing was due to cattle (dung: range 0\uffe2\uff80\uff934545\uffc2\uffa0kg ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921; mean 142\uffc2\uffa0kg ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921). Any effects of grazing on ecosystem services were herbivore specific and ranged from positive to neutral or negative. Sheep, and to a lesser extent cattle, were associated with greater N\uffe2\uff80\uff90availability. Rabbits, however, had a greater effect on P\uffe2\uff80\uff90availability than aridity. Our study suggests that increases in livestock grazing may fail to sustain ecosystem services because of the generally stronger negative effect of increasing aridity on most ecosystem services in our model dryland. These services are likely therefore to decline with global increases in aridity. Copyright \uffc2\uffa9 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "ecosystem services", " nutrient cycling", " climate change", " dryland", " grazing", "13. Climate action", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ldr.2736"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2736"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Land%20Degradation%20%26amp%3B%20Development", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1002/ldr.2736", "name": "item", "description": "10.1002/ldr.2736", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1002/ldr.2736"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-05-12T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.05.015", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:15:41Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2012-08-19", "title": "Tensile Strength And Organic Carbon Of Soil Aggregates Under Long-Term No Tillage In Semiarid Aragon (Ne Spain)", "description": "Open AccessThis research was supported by the Comisi\u00f3n Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnolog\u00eda of Spain (grants AGL2010-22050-CO3-02/AGR and AGL2007-66320-C02-02/AGR) and the European Union (FEDER funds). N. Blanco-Moure was awarded with a FPI fellowship by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Aggregate strength", "Soil organic carbon", "Rupture energy", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Dryland cereal farming", "15. Life on land", "Conservation tillage"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.05.015"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Geoderma", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.05.015", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.05.015", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.05.015"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2012-11-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.12.008", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:15:46Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2006-01-27", "title": "Carbon Sequestration In Semi-Arid Rangelands: Comparison Of Pinus Ponderosa Plantations And Grazing Exclusion In Nw Patagonia", "description": "Abstract The large global extension of arid and semi-arid regions together with their widespread degradation give these areas a high potential to sequester carbon. We explored the possibilities of semi-arid ecosystems to sequester carbon by means of rangeland exclusion and afforestation with Pinus ponderosa in NW Patagonia (Argentina). We sampled all pools where organic carbon accumulates in a network of five trios of adjacent grazed, non-grazed and afforested stands (age: 12\u201325 years, density 605\u20131052\u00a0trees\u00a0ha \u22121 ). After 15 years since trees were planted, afforestation added \u223c50% more C to the initial ecosystem carbon pool, with annual sequestration rate ranging 0.5\u20133.3\u00a0Mg\u00a0C\u00a0ha \u22121 year \u22121 . Carbon gains in afforested stands were higher above than below-ground (150% vs. 32%). Root biomass differences (374% more in afforested vs. grazed stands, p = 0.0 0 1 1 ) explained below-ground carbon contrasts whereas soil organic carbon showed no differences with afforestation. By contrast, grazing exclosures did not result in significant changes in the total carbon storage in comparison with the adjacent grazed stands ( p = 0.4 2 ) suggesting a slow ecosystem recovery in the time frame of this study (\u223c15 years of exclusion). Nevertheless, higher litter amount was found in the former (+53%, p = 0.0 7 ). Neither, soil organic carbon nor root carbon showed significant differences between grazed and non-grazed conditions. Considering that more than 1.1 millions of hectares of the studied ecosystems are highly degraded and suitable for tree planting, afforesting this area could result in a carbon sequestration rate of 1.7\u00a0Tg C year \u22121 , almost 6% of the current fossil fuel emissions of Argentina; however environmental consequences which could emerge from this deep land use shift must be taken into account when afforestation program are being designed.", "keywords": ["Argentina", "Drylands", "Ecosystem carbon pool", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "Grazing", "Afforestation", "13. Climate action", "https://purl.org/becyt/ford/4.1", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "https://purl.org/becyt/ford/4", "Desertification", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.12.008"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Arid%20Environments", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.12.008", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.12.008", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.12.008"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2006-10-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1007/s11104-017-3388-5", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:14:46Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2017-08-26", "title": "Livestock grazing and aridity reduce the functional diversity of biocrusts", "description": "Livestock grazing and climate change are two of the most important global change drivers affecting ecosystem functioning in drylands. Grazing and climate are known to influence the cover and composition of biocrusts, which are substantial components of dryland soils globally. Much less is known, however, about how these global change drivers affect the functional diversity of biocrust communities in these ecosystems. Here, we evaluate the role of increasing aridity and grazing intensity in driving the functional diversity of biocrusts. We collected data on multiple biocrust functional traits and community composition, recent and historic grazing intensity, and vascular plants at 151 sites from drylands in eastern Australia. We then used structural equation modelling and a fourth corner analysis to examine the combined effects of aridity and grazing on biocrust functional diversity and individual functional traits. Aridity had a significant direct suppressive effect on biocrust functional diversity. Effects of grazing by livestock, kangaroos and rabbits on functional diversity were predominantly indirect and suppressive, mediated by a reduction in biocrust cover. Grazing did, however, promote functional diversity via an increase in vascular plant richness, with a concomitant increase in biocrust richness. The overall effect of grazing on biocrust functional diversity however was negative. Fourth corner analyses revealed that livestock grazing had a significant negative effect on the ability of biocrusts to stabilise the soil. Aridity had strong negative effects on biocrust height and their ability to absorb water and capture sediment. Few significant relationships were detected between enzyme-related traits and environmental variables. Our findings provide novel evidence that the combination of increasing aridity and intensified livestock grazing will reduce the functional diversity and capabilities of biocrust communities, with resultant declines in ecosystem functioning.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "13. Climate action", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Trait; Biological soil crust; soil crusts; ecosystem function; functional diversity; livestock; Drylands", "11. Sustainability", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11104-017-3388-5.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3388-5"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Plant%20and%20Soil", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1007/s11104-017-3388-5", "name": "item", "description": "10.1007/s11104-017-3388-5", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1007/s11104-017-3388-5"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-08-26T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.agsy.2005.09.009", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:15:07Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2006-10-20", "title": "Can Carbon Sequestration Markets Benefit Low-Income Producers In Semi-Arid Africa? Potentials And Challenges", "description": "Abstract The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change allows a country that emits C above agreed-upon limits to purchase C offsets from an entity that uses biological means to absorb or reduce greenhouse emissions. The CDM is currently offered for afforestation and reforestation projects, but may apply subsequently to sequestration in agricultural soils. Additionally, markets outside of the Protocol are developing for soil C sequestration. In theory, C markets present win-win opportunities for buyers and sellers of C stocks. In practice, however, C markets are very complex. They presuppose the existence and integration of technical capacity to enhance C storage in production systems, the capacity for resource users to adopt and maintain land resource practices that sequester C, the ability for dealers or brokers to monitor C stocks at a landscape level, the institutional capacity to aggregate C credits, the financial mechanisms for incentive payments to reach farmers, and transparent and accountable governance structures that can ensure equitable distribution of benefits. Hence, while C payments may contribute to increasing rural incomes and promoting productivity enhancement practices, they may also expose resource users to additional social tensions and institutional risks.", "keywords": ["Carbon sequestration", "Poverty reduction", "Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)", "01 natural sciences", "12. Responsible consumption", "Payments for environmental services", "Agricultural ecosystems", "Afforestation", "West Africa", "11. Sustainability", "Reforestation", "Poverty", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Soil organic matter", "Drylands", "1. No poverty", "Kyoto Protocol", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Soil carbon", "Semiarid zones", "Carbon credits", "PES", "Greenhouse gases", "Carbon offsets", "Emissions", "Economic incentives", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Carbon markets"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Perez, C., Roncoli, \u202aCarla, Neely, Constance L., Steiner, J. L.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2005.09.009"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Agricultural%20Systems", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.agsy.2005.09.009", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.agsy.2005.09.009", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.agsy.2005.09.009"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2007-04-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.baae.2020.07.003", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:15:14Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-07-24", "title": "Grazing and aridity have contrasting effects on the functional and taxonomic diversity of ants", "description": "Open AccessM.D-B. was supported by the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 702057 (CLIMIFUN) and by a Large Research Grant from the British Ecological Society (Grant Agreement No. LRA17 1193, MUSGONET).", "keywords": ["Richness", "0106 biological sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Grazing", "Ants", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Drylands", "Functional diversity", "Ecolog\u00eda", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2020.07.003"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Basic%20and%20Applied%20Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.baae.2020.07.003", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.baae.2020.07.003", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.baae.2020.07.003"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2020-11-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.catena.2012.07.010", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:15:17Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2012-08-03", "title": "Dynamics Of Aggregate Destabilization By Water In Soils Under Long-Term Conservation Tillage In Semiarid Spain", "description": "Open AccessPeer reviewed", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Water aggregate stability", "Soil organic carbon", "No tillage", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Dryland cereal farming", "15. Life on land", "Slaking"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2012.07.010"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/CATENA", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.catena.2012.07.010", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.catena.2012.07.010", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.catena.2012.07.010"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2012-12-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.03.034", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:15:23Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-03-26", "title": "Grazing reduces the capacity of Landscape Function Analysis to predict regional-scale nutrient availability or decomposition, but not total nutrient pools", "description": "Open AccessPeer reviewed", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "Aridity; Enzyme activities; Carbon; Nitrogen; Phosphorus; Drylands", "13. Climate action", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.03.034"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Ecological%20Indicators", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.03.034", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.03.034", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.03.034"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2018-07-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/geb.12928", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:17:32Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-05-14", "title": "Global drivers of methane oxidation and denitrifying gene distribution in drylands", "description": "AbstractAim

Microorganisms carrying pmoA and nosZ genes are major drivers of methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from soils. However, most studies on these organisms have been conducted in mesic ecosystems; therefore, little is known about the factors driving their distribution in drylands, the largest biome on Earth. We conducted a global survey to evaluate the role of climate\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and soil\uffe2\uff80\uff90related variables as predictors of the richness, abundance and community structure of bacteria carrying pmoA and nosZ genes.

Location

Eighty dryland ecosystems distributed worldwide.

Time period

From February 2006 to December 2011.

Major taxa studied

Methanotrophic (carrying the pmoA gene) and denitrifiying (carrying the nosZ gene) bacteria.

Methods

We used data from a field survey and structural equation modelling to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of climatic (aridity, rainfall seasonality and mean annual temperature) and soil (organic carbon, pH and texture) variables on the total abundance, richness and community structure of microorganisms carrying pmoA and nosZ genes.

Results

Taxa related to Methylococcus capsulatus or Methylocapsa sp., often associated with mesic environments, were common in global drylands. The abundance and richness of methanotrophs were not associated with climate or soil properties. However, mean annual temperature, rainfall seasonality, organic C, pH and sand content were highly correlated with their community structure. Aridity and soil variables, such as sand content and pH, were correlated with the abundance, community structure and richness of the nosZ bacterial community.

Main conclusions

Our study provides new insights into the drivers of the abundance, richness and community structure of soil microorganisms carrying pmoA and nosZ genes in drylands worldwide. We highlight how ongoing climate change will alter the structure of soil microorganisms, which might affect the net CH4 exchange and will probably reduce the capacity of dryland soils to carry out the final step of denitrification, favouring net N2O emissions.Fungi are major drivers of ecosystem functioning. Increases in aridity are known to negatively impact fungal community composition in dryland ecosystems globally; yet, much less is known on the potential influence of other environmental drivers, and whether these relationships are linear or nonlinear.

Time period

2017\uffe2\uff80\uff932021.

Location

Global.

Major taxa studied

Fungi.

Methods

We re\uffe2\uff80\uff90analysed multiple datasets from different dryland biogeographical regions, for a total of 912 samples and 1,483 taxa. We examined geographical patterns in community diversity and composition, and spatial, edaphic and climatic factors driving them.

Results

UV index, climate seasonality, and sand content were the most important environmental predictors of community shifts, showing the strongest association with the richness of putative plant pathogens and saprobes. Important nonlinear relationships existed with each of these fungal guilds, with increases in UV and temperature seasonality above 7.5 and 900 SD (standard deviation x 100 of the mean monthly temperature), respectively, being associated with an increased probability of plant pathogen and unspecified saprotroph occurrence. Conversely, these environmental parameters had a negative relationship with litter and soil saprotroph richness. Consequently, these ecological groups might be particularly sensitive to shifts in UV radiation and climate seasonality, which is likely to disturb current plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil dynamics in drylands.

Main conclusions

Our synthesis integrates fungal community data from drylands across the globe, allowing the investigation of fungal distribution and providing the first evidence of shifts in fungal diversity and composition of key fungal ecological groups along diverse spatial, climatic and edaphic gradients in these widely distributed ecosystems. Our findings imply that shifts in soil structure and seasonal climatic patterns induced by global change will have disproportionate consequences for the distribution of fungal groups linked to vegetation and biogeochemical cycling in drylands, with implications for plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil interactions in drylands.The aim of this study was to assess the influence of season, farm management (organic, biodynamic, integrated, and conventional), and soil chemical, physical, and biological properties on gross nitrogen (N) fluxes and bacterial community structure in the semi-arid region of Western Australia. Moisture availability was the dominant factor mediating microbial activity and carbon (C) and N cycling under this climate. In general, microbial biomass N, dissolved organic N, and potentially mineralisable N were greater in organic and biodynamic than integrated and conventional soil. Our results indicate that greater silt and clay content in organic and biodynamic soil may also partly explain these differences in soil N pools, rather than management alone. Although plant-available N (NH4+ + NO3\uffe2\uff80\uff93) was greater in conventional soil, this was largely the result of higher NO3\uffe2\uff80\uff93 production. Multiple linear modelling indicated that soil temperature, moisture, soil textural classes, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and C and N pools were important in predicting gross N fluxes. Redundancy analysis revealed that bacterial community structure, assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA, was correlated with C and N pools and fluxes, confirming links between bacterial structure and function. Bacterial community structure was also correlated with soil textural classes and soil temperature but not soil moisture. These results indicate that across this semi-arid landscape, soil bacterial communities are relatively resistant to water stress.

", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "dryland agriculture", "550", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Western Australia", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "DGGE", "15. Life on land", "N-15 pool dilution", "6. Clean water"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1071/sr05042"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1071/sr05042", "name": "item", "description": "10.1071/sr05042", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1071/sr05042"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2006-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.proenv.2011.12.129", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:15:56Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2012-01-09", "title": "Effects Of Tillage Managements On Soil Rapidly Available Nutrient Content And The Yield Of Winter Wheat In West Henan Province, China", "description": "AbstractIn order to study the effects of different tillage management on soil rapidly available nutrient content and the yield of winter wheat, four treatments of once deep plowing tillage (DT), no tillage (NT), subsoiling tillage (ST) and conventional tillage (CT) were conducted in field. The results showed that conservation tillage can improve soil nutrient content. Soil alkali-hydrolysis nitrogen, available phosphorus and potassium content were outstandingly advanced under ST and NT compared with CT, and the effect of ST was better than that of NT. In contrast to CT, available potassium content was evidently increased under DT treatment. Compared with CT, the grain yield of NT and ST was increased by 10.22% and 9.26% respectively.", "keywords": ["Winter wheat", "2. Zero hunger", "Tillage management", "Yield", "Dryland area", "Soil nutrient", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Youjunkdlyj@sina.com, Li, Ming, Huang,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2011.12.129"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Procedia%20Environmental%20Sciences", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.proenv.2011.12.129", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.proenv.2011.12.129", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.proenv.2011.12.129"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2011-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.still.2013.01.005", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:16:22Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2013-02-27", "title": "Soil Biochemical Properties In A Semiarid Mediterranean Agroecosystem As Affected By Long-Term Tillage And N Fertilization", "description": "Tillage and N fertilization practices contribute to the balance between soil C inputs and outputs. Thus, the impacts of both practices and their interactions on soil organic C (SOC) dynamics must be studied. The main objective of this study was to determine long-term effects of tillage and N fertilization on soil biochemical properties in a long-term experiment established in 1996 on a dryland Typic Xerofluvent soil cropped with barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in NE Spain. The response of SOC concentration, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and soil enzyme activities (DHA, dehydrogenase, and PRA, protease) to different tillage (no-tillage, NT; reduced tillage, RT; and conventional tillage, CT) and N treatments (zero, 0 kg N ha\u22121; medium, 60 kg N ha\u22121; and high, 120 kg N ha\u22121) were measured in 2008 at four soil depths (i.e., 0\u20135, 5\u201310, 10\u201325 and 25\u201350 cm). All the soil biochemical properties studied showed significant differences for tillage, depth and the interaction between tillage and soil depth. However, N fertilization rates only affected the SMBC content, which was greater under 120 kg N ha\u22121 than under 0 kg N ha\u22121 in the 10\u201325 cm soil layer. In the soil surface layer (0\u20135 cm), SOC, SMBC and DHA levels in CT were about 50% of the levels in the NT plots. However, in the 10\u201325 cm soil layer, a greater SOC concentration in CT compared with NT and RT was also accompanied by SMBC and DHA values 30% higher in CT. Below 25 cm soil depth, similar values of soil biochemical properties were found among tillage systems. There was a significant correlation among almost all the parameters studied, with the greatest correlations between SOC and SMBC and between SOC and DHA. In semiarid Mediterranean conditions, after 12 years of experiment, tillage impacted soil biochemical properties in a greater extent compared with N fertilization even though this effect was only limited to the upper soil layers. This work was supported by the Comisi\u00f3n Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnolog\u00eda of Spain (grants AGL2007-66320-CO2-01 and AGL2010-22050-CO3-01/02) and the European Union (FEDER funds).", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Traditional tillage", "Dryland farming", "Soil microbial activity", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Conservation tillage", "6. Clean water"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2013.01.005"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20and%20Tillage%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.still.2013.01.005", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.still.2013.01.005", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.still.2013.01.005"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-05-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.still.2011.06.003", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Closed Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:16:20Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2011-07-23", "title": "Effect Of Shallow Tillage, Moldboard Plowing, Straw Management And Compost Addition On Soil Organic Matter And Nitrogen In A Dryland Barley/Wheat-Vetch Rotation", "description": "Abstract Sustainability of dryland cropping is a major issue in the typical Mediterranean climatic environment of West Asia and North Africa. Management of crop residues and soil organic matter (SOM) and its interrelationship with tillage and crop rotation is of central importance for maintaining soil quality and sustaining crop yields. We examined the medium-term influence of conventional moldboard plowing compared with shallow tillage, under barley-vetch and barley-vetch\u2013wheat-vetch rotation, with different levels of straw management (burned, removed, or incorporated) and compost addition (10\u00a0Mg\u00a0ha \u22121 every 2 or 4 years) on the distribution with soil depth (0\u201330\u00a0cm) of SOM, total organic nitrogen (N tot ), and labile as well as microbial carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Shallow tillage increased SOM in 0\u201320\u00a0cm across all residue management treatments by on average 2.7\u00a0g\u00a0kg \u22121 . Compost addition every 2 years instead of burning or removing residues significantly increased N tot in 0\u201320\u00a0cm by 0.22\u00a0g\u00a0kg \u22121 , doubled labile N and C in 0\u20135\u00a0\u00a0cm depth, and increased the ratio of labile N to N tot in 0\u201320\u00a0cm by 4%. Consequently, SOM accumulated in the labile pool, which reacts readily to changes in soil management practice, but which may also be depleted as quickly. Thus, shallow tillage in combination with compost addition can help build-up of SOM, and therefore soil quality. Under conditions of intensive cultivation, where crop residues are not in demand for livestock fodder, the system assessed constitutes a new agronomic direction under dryland agriculture in the Mediterranean region.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "13. Climate action", "Straw and stubble management", "Microbial carbon", "Dryland farming", "Labile carbon", "Reduced tillage", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Crop rotations", "Conservation tillage", "6. Clean water"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Sommer, R., Ryan, J., Masri, S., Singh, M., Diekmann, J.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2011.06.003"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20and%20Tillage%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.still.2011.06.003", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.still.2011.06.003", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.still.2011.06.003"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2011-10-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.still.2011.10.012", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:16:21Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2011-11-17", "title": "No Tillage In Rainfed Aragon (Ne Spain): Effect On Organic Carbon In The Soil Surface Horizon", "description": "Open AccessThis research was supported by the Comisi\u00f3n Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnolog\u00eda of Spain (Grants AGL2010-22050-CO3-02/AGR and AGL2007-66320-C02-02/AGR) and the European Union (FEDER Funds). N. Blanco-Moure was awarded with a PhD fellowship (FPI Program) by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Soil organic matter", "On-farm research", "Crop residues", "Soil organic matter;", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Dryland cereal farming", "15. Life on land", "Conservation tillage"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2011.10.012"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20and%20Tillage%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.still.2011.10.012", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.still.2011.10.012", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.still.2011.10.012"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2012-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1038/nature12670", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:16:45Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2013-10-29", "title": "Decoupling Of Soil Nutrient Cycles As A Function Of Aridity In Global Drylands", "description": "The biogeochemical cycles of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are interlinked by primary production, respiration and decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. It has been suggested that the C, N and P cycles could become uncoupled under rapid climate change because of the different degrees of control exerted on the supply of these elements by biological and geochemical processes. Climatic controls on biogeochemical cycles are particularly relevant in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid ecosystems (drylands) because their biological activity is mainly driven by water availability. The increase in aridity predicted for the twenty-first century in many drylands worldwide may therefore threaten the balance between these cycles, differentially affecting the availability of essential nutrients. Here we evaluate how aridity affects the balance between C, N and P in soils collected from 224 dryland sites from all continents except Antarctica. We find a negative effect of aridity on the concentration of soil organic C and total N, but a positive effect on the concentration of inorganic P. Aridity is negatively related to plant cover, which may favour the dominance of physical processes such as rock weathering, a major source of P to ecosystems, over biological processes that provide more C and N, such as litter decomposition. Our findings suggest that any predicted increase in aridity with climate change will probably reduce the concentrations of N and C in global drylands, but increase that of P. These changes would uncouple the C, N and P cycles in drylands and could negatively affect the provision of key services provided by these ecosystems.", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "Nitrogen", "Biolog\u00eda", "Climate Change", "Carbon Cycle", "Soil", "03 medical and health sciences", "Ecological Impacts of Climate Change", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation", "Biomass", "Desiccation", "Ecosystem", "Soil Chemistry (excl Carbon Sequestration Science)", "2. Zero hunger", "drylands", "Geography", "soil fertility", "Phosphorus", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "biogeochemical cycle", "Models", " Theoretical", "Nitrogen Cycle", "Plants", "15. Life on land", "Carbon", "Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases", "Soil chemistry and soil carbon sequestration (excl. carbon sequestration science)", "climate change", "Medio Ambiente", "13. Climate action", "Ecosystem Function", "Clay", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Aluminum Silicates", "Desert Climate"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12670"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Nature", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1038/nature12670", "name": "item", "description": "10.1038/nature12670", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1038/nature12670"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-10-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1038/s41396-019-0465-1", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:16:45Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-06-27", "title": "Plant-driven niche differentiation of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in global drylands", "description": "Abstract

Under controlled laboratory conditions, high and low ammonium availability are known to favor soil ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) communities, respectively. However, whether this niche segregation is maintained under field conditions in terrestrial ecosystems remains unresolved, particularly at the global scale. We hypothesized that perennial vegetation might favor AOB vs. AOA communities compared with adjacent open areas devoid of perennial vegetation (i.e., bare soil) via several mechanisms, including increasing the amount of ammonium in soil. To test this niche-differentiation hypothesis, we conducted a global field survey including 80 drylands from 6 continents. Data supported our hypothesis, as soils collected under plant canopies had higher levels of ammonium, as well as higher richness (number of terminal restriction fragments; T-RFs) and abundance (qPCR amoA genes) of AOB, and lower richness and abundance of AOA, than those collected in open areas located between plant canopies. Some of the reported associations between plant canopies and AOA and AOB communities can be a consequence of the higher organic matter and available N contents found under plant canopies. Other aspects of soils associated with vegetation including shading and microclimatic conditions might also help explain our results. Our findings provide strong evidence for niche differentiation between AOA and AOB communities in drylands worldwide, advancing our understanding of their ecology and biogeography at the global scale.Wheat production will be impacted by increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2 [CO2], which is expected to rise from about 400\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcmol\uffc2\uffa0mol\uffe2\uff88\uff921 in 2015 to 550\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcmol\uffc2\uffa0mol\uffe2\uff88\uff921 by 2050. Changes to plant physiology and crop responses from elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]) are well documented for some environments, but field\uffe2\uff80\uff90level responses in dryland Mediterranean environments with terminal drought and heat waves are scarce. The Australian Grains Free Air CO2 Enrichment facility was established to compare wheat (Triticum aestivum) growth and yield under ambient (~370\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcmol\uffe2\uff88\uff921 in 2007) and e[CO2] (550\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcmol\uffe2\uff88\uff921) in semi\uffe2\uff80\uff90arid environments. Experiments were undertaken at two dryland sites (Horsham and Walpeup) across three years with two cultivars, two sowing times and two irrigation treatments. Mean yield stimulation due to e[CO2] was 24% at Horsham and 53% at Walpeup, with some treatment responses greater than 70%, depending on environment. Under supplemental irrigation, e[CO2] stimulated yields at Horsham by 37% compared to 13% under rainfed conditions, showing that water limited growth and yield response to e[CO2]. Heat wave effects were ameliorated under e[CO2] as shown by reductions of 31% and 54% in screenings and 10% and 12% larger kernels (Horsham and Walpeup). Greatest yield stimulations occurred in the e[CO2] late sowing and heat stressed treatments, when supplied with more water. There were no clear differences in cultivar response due to e[CO2]. Multiple regression showed that yield response to e[CO2] depended on temperatures and water availability before and after anthesis. Thus, timing of temperature and water and the crop's ability to translocate carbohydrates to the grain postanthesis were all important in determining the e[CO2] response. The large responses to e[CO2] under dryland conditions have not been previously reported and underscore the need for field level research to provide mechanistic understanding for adapting crops to a changing climate.

", "keywords": ["heat wave", "Yield", "Agricultural Irrigation", "Hot Temperature", "Victoria", "Rain", "070302 Agronomy", "dryland", "551", "Dryland", "Heat wave", "Biomass", "Triticum", "free air CO2 enrichment", "2. Zero hunger", "elevated CO2", "Atmosphere", "Australian grains free air CO2 enrichment", "Water", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Carbon Dioxide", "15. Life on land", "wheat; yield", "6. Clean water", "Droughts", ": Australian grains free air CO2 enrichment", "13. Climate action", "Free air CO2 enrichment", "Wheat", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Elevated CO2", "Edible Grain", "Environmental Monitoring"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13263"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Change%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/gcb.13263", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/gcb.13263", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/gcb.13263"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-03-31T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.3389/fmicb.2015.00891", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:18:56Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2015-09-04", "title": "Soil Bacterial And Fungal Community Responses To Nitrogen Addition Across Soil Depth And Microhabitat In An Arid Shrubland", "description": "Arid shrublands are stressful environments, typified by alkaline soils low in organic matter, with biologically-limiting extremes in water availability, temperature, and UV radiation. The widely-spaced plants and interspace biological soil crusts in these regions provide soil nutrients in a localized fashion, creating a mosaic pattern of plant- or crust-associated microhabitats with distinct nutrient composition. With sporadic and limited rainfall, nutrients are primarily retained in the shallow surface soil, patterning biological activity. We examined soil bacterial and fungal community responses to simulated nitrogen (N) deposition in an arid Larrea tridentata-Ambrosia dumosa field experiment in southern Nevada, USA, using high-throughput sequencing of ribosomal RNA genes. To examine potential interactions among the N application, microhabitat and soil depth, we sampled soils associated with shrub canopies and interspace biological crusts at two soil depths (0-0.5 or 0-10 cm) across the N-amendment gradient (0, 7, and 15 kg ha(-1) yr(-1)). We hypothesized that localized compositional differences in soil microbiota would constrain the impacts of N addition to a microhabitat distribution that would reflect highly localized geochemical conditions and microbial community composition. The richness and community composition of both bacterial and fungal communities differed significantly by microhabitat and with soil depth in each microhabitat. Only bacterial communities exhibited significant responses to the N addition. Community composition correlated with microhabitat and depth differences in soil geochemical features. Given the distinct roles of soil bacteria and fungi in major nutrient cycles, the resilience of fungi and sensitivity of bacteria to N amendments suggests that increased N input predicted for many arid ecosystems could shift nutrient cycling toward pathways driven primarily by fungal communities.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "0301 basic medicine", "biological soil crusts", "0303 health sciences", "microhabitat", "soil bacterial community", "dryland", "15. Life on land", "soil fungal community", "Microbiology", "Shrubland", "QR1-502", "6. Clean water", "03 medical and health sciences", "Soil bacterial community", "shrubland", "ribosomal RNA", "global change"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Cheryl R. Kuske, Jayne Belnap, Rebecca C. Mueller,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00891"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Frontiers%20in%20Microbiology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3389/fmicb.2015.00891", "name": "item", "description": "10.3389/fmicb.2015.00891", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00891"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2015-09-04T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1126/science.aay5958", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:17:50Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-02-14", "title": "Global ecosystem thresholds driven by aridity", "description": "Thresholds of aridity

Increasing aridity due to climate change is expected to affect multiple ecosystem structural and functional attributes in global drylands, which cover \uffe2\uff88\uffbc45% of the terrestrial globe. Berdugo et al. show that increasing aridity promotes thresholds on the structure and functioning of drylands (see the Perspective by Hirota and Oliveira). Their database includes 20 variables summarizing multiple aspects and levels of ecological organization. They found evidence for a series of abrupt ecological events occurring sequentially in three phases, culminating with a shift to low-cover ecosystems that are nutrient- and species-poor at high aridity values. They estimate that more than 20% of land surface will cross at least one of the thresholds by 2100, which can potentially lead to widespread land degradation and desertification worldwide.

Science , this issue p. 787 ; see also p. 739

Grazing represents the most extensive use of land worldwide. Yet its impacts on ecosystem services remain uncertain because pervasive interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil properties, and biodiversity may occur but have never been addressed simultaneously. Using a standardized survey at 98 sites across six continents, we show that interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil, and biodiversity are critical to explain the delivery of fundamental ecosystem services across drylands worldwide. Increasing grazing pressure reduced ecosystem service delivery in warmer and species-poor drylands, whereas positive effects of grazing were observed in colder and species-rich areas. Considering interactions between grazing and local abiotic and biotic factors is key for understanding the fate of dryland ecosystems under climate change and increasing human pressure.

", "keywords": ["[SDE] Environmental Sciences", "570", "Ecosystem services (ES)", "Livestock", "Climate", "Climate Change", "Wild", "630", "Dryland", "Soil", "SDG-02: Zero hunger", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Climate change", "Humans", "Ecosystem services", "grazing", "Herbivory", "14. Life underwater", "climate", "Institut f\u00fcr Biochemie und Biologie", "Ecosystem", "biodiversity", "SDG-15: Life on land", "2. Zero hunger", "Systems", "Drylands", "Qu\u00edmica", "Biodiversity", "15. Life on land", "Grazing", "13. Climate action", "[SDE]Environmental Sciences", "ddc:570", "ecosystem services", "Rangeland"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq4062"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1126/science.abq4062", "name": "item", "description": "10.1126/science.abq4062", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1126/science.abq4062"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-11-25T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/nph.15120", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:17:46Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-04-02", "title": "Biocrust\u2010forming mosses mitigate the impact of aridity on soil microbial communities in drylands: observational evidence from three continents", "description": "Summary

Recent research indicates that increased aridity linked to climate change will reduce the diversity of soil microbial communities and shift their community composition in drylands, Earth's largest biome. However, we lack both a theoretical framework and solid empirical evidence of how important biotic components from drylands, such as biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses, will regulate the responses of microbial communities to expected increases in aridity with climate change.

Here we report results from a cross\uffe2\uff80\uff90continental (North America, Europe and Australia) survey of 39 locations from arid to humid ecosystems, where we evaluated how biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses regulate the relationship between aridity and the community composition and diversity of soil bacteria and fungi in dryland ecosystems.

Increasing aridity was negatively related to the richness of fungi, and either positively or negatively related to the relative abundance of selected microbial phyla, when biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses were absent. Conversely, we found an overall lack of relationship between aridity and the relative abundance and richness of microbial communities under biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses.

Our results suggest that biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses mitigate the impact of aridity on the community composition of globally distributed microbial taxa, and the diversity of fungi. They emphasize the importance of maintaining biocrusts as a sanctuary for soil microbes in drylands.

Natural and seminatural habitat remnants play a crucial ecological role in intensified agroecosystems. Assumptions on the conservation value of small and poorly connected fragments in a hostile matrix come from generalization obtained from a limited number of taxa, mostly plants, and vertebrates. To date, few studies have analyzed the effect of fragmentation on ant communities in Mediterranean agroecosystems, despite the importance of this group of animals on several key ecosystem functions and services. Here, we analyze the effects of fragment area and connectivity on ant communities in gypsum outcrops in a large cereal agroecosystem of Central Spain. Ant communities were described by their species composition, abundance (total number of occurrences), and number of species, standardized both by area (species density), and abundance (species richness). Observed number of species was relatively high in comparison with other studies in the Mediterranean, and we found no effects of fragment characteristics on species density, species richness and species composition, which implies that even small and isolated patches do have a value for ant conservation. Moreover, total number of occurrences were higher for smaller and more isolated fragments. This finding contrasts with the results reported for other taxa in similar gypsum habitats and suggests that certain ant traits and strategies make them particularly resistant to fragmentation and capable to take advantage of small habitat patches. Given the important ecological role played by ants, we recommend the preservation of these small habitat fragments in the management plans of agroecosystems in these drylands, especially in those cases in which intensification of agricultural practices greatly diminish natural habitat availability.

", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "drylands", "agroecosystems", "gypsum habitats", "Ecology", "Evolution", "Ants", "ants", "Biodiversity", "15. Life on land", "Biolog\u00eda y Biomedicina / Biolog\u00eda", "01 natural sciences", "13. Climate action", "fragmentation", "QH359-425", "biodiversity conservation", "Crematogaster", "14. Life underwater", "QH540-549.5"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.619215"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Frontiers%20in%20Ecology%20and%20Evolution", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3389/fevo.2021.619215", "name": "item", "description": "10.3389/fevo.2021.619215", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3389/fevo.2021.619215"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2021-03-16T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.3390/life10020014", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:19:07Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-02-10", "title": "Synthetic Biology for Terraformation Lessons from Mars, Earth, and the Microbiome", "description": "

What is the potential for synthetic biology as a way of engineering, on a large scale, complex ecosystems? Can it be used to change endangered ecological communities and rescue them to prevent their collapse? What are the best strategies for such ecological engineering paths to succeed? Is it possible to create stable, diverse synthetic ecosystems capable of persisting in closed environments? Can synthetic communities be created to thrive on planets different from ours? These and other questions pervade major future developments within synthetic biology. The goal of engineering ecosystems is plagued with all kinds of technological, scientific and ethic problems. In this paper, we consider the requirements for terraformation, i.e., for changing a given environment to make it hospitable to some given class of life forms. Although the standard use of this term involved strategies for planetary terraformation, it has been recently suggested that this approach could be applied to a very different context: ecological communities within our own planet. As discussed here, this includes multiple scales, from the gut microbiome to the entire biosphere.

", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "Restoration ecology", "Terraformation", "Evolution", "Science", "microbiome", "Mars", "Article", "03 medical and health sciences", "evolution", "mars", "restoration ecology", "Synthetic biology", "2. Zero hunger", "drylands", "0303 health sciences", "Hypercycles", "Q", "Drylands", "Ecolog\u00eda", "15. Life on land", "terraformation", "3. Good health", "13. Climate action", "synthetic biology", "hypercycles", "Microbiome", "ecology"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/2/14/pdf"}, {"href": "https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/2/14/pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.3390/life10020014"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Life", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3390/life10020014", "name": "item", "description": "10.3390/life10020014", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3390/life10020014"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-12-29T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10451/52117", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:21:47Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-03-23", "title": "Non-Toxic Increases in Nitrogen Availability Can Improve the Ability of the Soil Lichen Cladonia rangiferina to Cope with Environmental Changes", "description": "

Climate change and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on drylands are greatly threatening these especially vulnerable areas. Soil biocrust-forming lichens in drylands can provide early indicators of these disturbances and play a pivotal role, as they contribute to key ecosystem services. In this study, we explored the effects of different long-term water availability regimes simulating climate changes and their interaction with N addition on the physiological response of the soil lichen Cladonia rangiferina. Three sets of this lichen were subjected to control, reduced watering, and reduced watering and N addition (40 kg NH4NO3 ha\u22121 year\u22121) treatments for 16 months. Finally, all samples were subjected to daily hydration cycles with N-enriched water at two levels (40 and 80 kg NH4NO3 ha\u22121 year\u22121) for 23 days. We found that reduced watering significantly decreased the vitality of this lichen, whereas N addition unexpectedly helped lichens subjected to reduced watering to cope with stress produced by high temperatures. We also found that long-term exposure to N addition contributed to the acclimation to higher N availability. Overall, our data suggest that the interactions between reduced watering and increased N supply and temperature have an important potential to reduce the physiological performance of this soil lichen.

", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "QH301-705.5", "Synergetic effects", "soil lichens; soil biocrust; global change; climate change; biomonitoring; synergetic effects; reduced watering; aridity; drylands; Mediterranean ecosystems", "01 natural sciences", "Article", "03 medical and health sciences", "Climate change", "Reduced watering", "Biology (General)", "Global change", "global change", "Aridity", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "0303 health sciences", "Drylands", "15. Life on land", "synergetic effects", "soil lichens", "6. Clean water", "climate change", "13. Climate action", "biomonitoring", "Biomonitoring", "Mediterranean ecosystems", "Soil lichens", "soil biocrust", "Soil biocrust"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/8/4/333/pdf"}, {"href": "https://repositorio.ulisboa.pt/bitstream/10451/52117/1/jof-08-00333-v2.pdf"}, {"href": "https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/8/4/333/pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10451/52117"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Fungi", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10451/52117", "name": "item", "description": "10451/52117", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10451/52117"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-03-23T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.bvq83bk74", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:19:29Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Sympatric pairings of dryland grass populations, mycorrhizal fungi, and associated soil biota enhance mutualism and ameliorate drought stress", "description": "unspecifiedSources of plants, soil and inoculum Seeds and soil were collected from two sites within 25 km of one another, but with very different annual precipitation. The wetter site (hereafter \u201cwet site\u201d) was a semi-arid grassy understory of a pi\u00f1on-juniper woodland on the west side of the Kaibab Plateau (Coconino County, Arizona, USA) at an elevation of 2,064 m with approximately 43 cm of precipitation annually (PRISM Climate Group). The drier site (hereafter \u201cdry site\u201d) was a semi-arid grassland adjacent to an alluvial drainage on the east side of the Kaibab Plateau at an elevation of 1710 m with an average of 28 cm of precipitation annually (PRISM Climate Group). The soils at both sites are derived from Kaibab Limestone and the wet site soils are composed of argids while the dry site soils are a mosaic of orthents and calcids. Bouteloua gracilis seed was collected from the two sites using the Seeds of Success protocol (http://www.nps.gov/planTs/sos/protocol/index.htm). Live soil inoculum was collected from the rooting zone of B. gracilis along three 100 m transects established from a random origin (azimuths of 0\u02da, 90\u02da and 270\u02da) at the wet and dry sites. Soil subsamples within each site were pooled together and mixed. We justify homogenizing inoculum from each site because we were interested in seedling responses to average soil biotic conditions across sites, rather than within a single site or extrapolating to a broader geography than our sampling sites (a \u201ctype C\u201d design; Gundale et al. 2017, 2019). Inoculum soil was refrigerated 2 weeks until its use in the experiment. The abundance of different soil organisms in the two inoculum soils was determined using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) analysis. Lipids were extracted from 5 g of freeze-dried inoculum soil by vortex mixing in a one-phase mixture of citrate buffer, methanol, and chloroform (0.8:2:1: v/v/v, pH 4.0). The biomass of AM fungi was estimated from the NLFA 16:1 w5: 20:1 w9, and 22:1 w13, biomass of other fungi was estimated from 18:2 w9:12c, and biomass of bacterial groups was estimated signature PLFAs for gram positive and gram negative bacteria (Olsson et al., 1995). This analysis indicated that the soil inoculum from the wet and dry sites had similar abundances of various fungal groups, including AM fungi, and bacteria (Supporting Information Table S1). The community composition of soil fungi in wet and dry inoculum treatments were compared before and after the experiment. Samples of soil were collected and DNA was extracted from 0.5 g of soil using a PowerSoil DNA Extraction Kit (MO BIO Laboratories, Inc., Carlsbad, CA, USA). Genomic DNA was normalized to 2 ng/mL, diluted 10-fold and amplified in triplicate PCR using the universal ITS general eukaryotic primer WANDA and the AM fungal specific primer AML2 for the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene (Lee et al. 2008; Dumbrell et al. 2011). Purified products were quantified with PicoGreen fluorescence. Indexing PCR was completed using 8 bp dual indexed WANDA and AML2 primers. Indexed PCR products were purified using a 1,1 carboxylated magnetic bead solution, quantified, and combined into a final sample library. The library was purified, concentrated, and quantified using quantitative PCR against Illumina DNA standards on an Illumina MiSeq System (Illumina, Inc., San Diego, CA) running in paired end 2 x 300 bp mode. Forward reads were trimmed to 250 bp to remove low quality tails and demultiplexing was carried out using a minimum quality threshold of q20 and default parameters in QUIIME 1.9.1 (Caporasso et al. 2010) Taxonomy was assigned to sequences using BLAST with 90% similarity and an E-value less than 10-4, against the online MaarjAM database (http,//maarjam.botany.ut.ee; accessed 10 September, 2020, \u014cpik et al. 2010). Taxa that made up less than 1% of relative abundance were labeled as \u2018other\u2019, otherwise species were recorded to the genus level for community comparisons. Many species remained unidentified or classified only to order or family. \u00a0 Experimental design Mesocosms were prepared with all four possible combinations of plant and inoculum origin, two sympatric combinations (inoculum and plants from the wet site, or inoculum and plants from the dry site) and two allopatric combinations (inoculum from the dry site with plants from the wet site, or inoculum from the wet site with plants from the dry site). These treatments were further crossed with two levels of water availability to mimic the severity of water limitation at the two source sites. To generate a frame of reference for the performance of plants without sympatric or allopatric soil organisms under the soil drying regime that most closely resembles their home site, we created two sterile inoculum treatments in which plants from the wet site were grown with sterile soil under a moderate drying regime and plants from the dry site were grown in sterile soil under extreme drying conditions. Each combination of plant ecotype, inoculum origin and drying regime was replicated 9 times, resulting in 72 mesocosms, plus, the two sterile inoculum treatments replicated 9 times for a total of 90 experimental units. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mesocosms were constructed from 21 L plastic containers (43 cm x 28 cm x 18 cm) with six 0.3 cm diameter holes drilled into the bottom for drainage. In order to remove the effects of any variation in soil physical and chemical characteristics at the two different sites, we created a sterilized common soil using a 1,1 mixture of soil from the two sites that was steam sterilized at 125\u00b0C for 48 hours. Our experimental design matches type C in Gundale et al. (2017), because unique and variable sub-populations of plant subjects (a random draw of seeds collected from a site) are confronted with one of two soil biota conditions that represent the gamma diversity of each site, and the same background soil condition. This design is preferred when the goal is to detect differences among two or more groups of subjects, and when within-site or regional spatial variation is not a focus (Cahill et al. 2017; Gundale et al. 2017; Gundale et al. 2019). Each mesocosm was filled with approximately 15 liters of sterilized soil and topped with a 1 cm thick band of either live or sterilized (dead) inoculum soil. Bouteloua gracilis seed was sprinkled onto the inoculum soil at a rate of 60 seeds per mesocosm and later thinned to 10 seedlings per mesocosm. Mesocosms were placed in fully randomized spatial locations to account for microclimatic variation within the glasshouse. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Watering treatments Initially, all mesocosms were watered three times each week for eight weeks and then they were watered twice per week for four weeks before starting the drying treatments. Each watering event brought the mesocosms to field capacity to ensure adequate moisture for plant establishment. Rather than simulate an unrealistically abrupt transition from abundant moisture to dry conditions, we simulated a more gradual transition based on percent of field capacity. These transitions simulate what a plant may experience during the growing seasons as soil moisture diminishes after snowmelt or summer monsoons. Mass at field capacity was estimated by weighing ten randomly selected containers 24 hours after watering. Then, the mass of one randomly selected container was measured every other day, until a soil mass threshold indicated it was time to water again to field capacity. For the moderate drying treatment, we used an initial threshold of 60% of mass at field capacity. For the extreme drying treatment, we used an initial threshold of 40%. After each sequential watering, we decreased both of these threshold percentages by 5%.\u00a0 This both gradually decreased the amount of water available to the plants and increased the length of time between watering events. Eventually, we reached permanent wilting point (approx. -1.5 MPa) in both treatments resulting in at least 90% mortality after 8 months when the experiment was terminated. \u00a0 Plant performance Every two weeks, we measured plant height in all containers and the percentage of plant tissue that was green was monitored to estimate the length of time until plant senescence. Greenness was based on ocular estimates of color. No plants produced inflorescences.\u00a0 At the termination of the experiment, all aboveground biomass was clipped, dried at 60\u00b0C for 24 hours and weighed. Root biomass was sampled by taking four soil cores (5 cm diameter and 18 cm deep). Roots were cleaned, dried and weighed and the weight of roots per volume of core was used to estimate root biomass in the total volume of the mesocosm. \u00a0 AM fungal performance Soil and root materials obtained from destructive harvesting at the end of the experiment were analyzed from all 90 mesocosms.\u00a0 A 10 g subsample of fresh root material was refrigerated until it could be examined for root colonization by fungi. Root samples were cleared with 5% KOH and stained with ink in vinegar (Vierheilig et al., 1998). \u00a0Colonization by AM fungi and other root endophytes was determined using the gridline intersect method at 200 \u00d7 magnification (McGonigle et al., 1990). \u00a0Mycorrhizal root colonization was distinguished as arbuscules, vesicles and hyphae; dark septate endophytes (DSEs) were also quantified.\u00a0 The soil-borne (external) hyphae of AM fungi were extracted from the soil cores after root removal, using the methods of Sylvia (1992), \u00a0and quantified using a gridded eyepiece graticule in an inverse compound microscope at 250 \u00d7 magnification.\u00a0 At points where hyphae intersected gridlines, hyphae were counted, and counts were converted to length of hyphae per gram of soil. Hyphae of AM fungi were distinguished from other fungal hyphae based on their morphology and color.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "FOS: Biological sciences", "Global warming", "dryland ecology", "Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi", "15. Life on land", "Plant ecology", "6. Clean water"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Remke, Michael", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bvq83bk74"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.bvq83bk74", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.bvq83bk74", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.bvq83bk74"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2020-11-02T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v5k", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:19:27Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Dryland soil restoration meta-analysis data", "description": "unspecifiedMicrosoft Excel.", "keywords": ["meta-analysis", "drylands", "restoration", "FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences", "15. Life on land", "soil"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Kimmell, Louisa, Fagan, Jessica, Havrilla, Caroline,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v5k"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v5k", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v5k", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v5k"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2023-06-20T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.7r3742r", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:19:27Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Data from: Broad-scale patterns of soil carbon (C) pools and fluxes across semiarid ecosystems are linked to climate and soil texture", "description": "unspecifiedDryland (semiarid and arid) ecosystems are responsible for most of the interannual variation in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and contain a considerable fraction of the globe\u2019s soil carbon (C) stock. Despite their important contribution to the global land C sink, we have a poor mechanistic understanding of the processes that drive C cycling patterns in drylands. In this study in eastern Utah, we examined the natural variation of soil C pools and fluxes along semiorthogonal gradients of climate and soil texture in order to determine the pertinent environmental controls on soil C cycling dynamics. Our study revealed a high degree of collinearity among C stocks and fluxes, which were related to climate, vegetation, and soil clay content. Soil C pools were positively correlated with both soil clay content and precipitation, which in turn was linked to aboveground plant biomass. By contrast, enzyme activities were negatively associated with temperature. We observed a strong decoupling of C pools and fluxes (for example, total C, DOC, microbial biomass C, and respiration) from the enzyme activities involved in organic matter decomposition. Overall, our findings indicate that the within- and between-site variation of soil C pools across diverse dryland ecosystems was strongly linked to both climate and edaphic characteristics, but the high degree of local variability within sites could challenge interpretations of environmental controls at broader scales.", "keywords": ["soil organic carbon", "dryland ecosystems", "microbial biomass", "13. Climate action", "clay", "15. Life on land"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Smith, Kenneth R., Waring, Bonnie G.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7r3742r"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.7r3742r", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.7r3742r", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.7r3742r"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-03-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.mgqnk992r", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:19:31Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Effects of land clearing for agriculture on soil organic carbon stocks in drylands: A meta-analysis", "description": "To improve our understanding of clearing natural ecosystems for cropland on soil organic carbon stocks in drylands, we searched for related peer-reviewed research papers published from 1980 to 2022 on the Web of Science (https://www.webofscience.com) and the Scopus Database (https://www.scopus.com) (accessed on 30th April 2022). Then, we screened papers for integrity, relevance, and scientific merit under the following criteria: (1) We made sure all studies were independent and based on field-measured data; (2) Each study had to report paired SOC stocks of cropland and adjacent natural ecosystems with the same or a similar suite of environmental factors; (3) Studies need to explicitly present results on SOC stocks or concentrations for certain depths and areas; (4) Studies have specified the types of natural ecosystems that were converted to cropland, which are used as criteria for defining CNEC types. Finally, we winnowed results to a total of 159 scientific journal articles, comprising 242 sites with 1379 paired soil layer observations from 601 paired soil profiles.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "soil organic carbon", "meta-analysis", "drylands", "13. Climate action", "cropland", "15. Life on land", "Clearing natural ecosystems", "FOS: Natural sciences"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Wang, Yuangang, Luo, Geping, Li, Chaofan, Ye, Hui, Shi, Haiyang, Fan, Binbin, Zhang, Wenqiang, Zhang, Chen, Xie, Mingjuan, Zhang, Yu,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mgqnk992r"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.mgqnk992r", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.mgqnk992r", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.mgqnk992r"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-10-24T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5281/zenodo.6584980", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:20:51Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Dataset of Rainy years counteract negative effects of drought on taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity: resilience in annual plant communities", "description": "Data used in the article: Rainy years counteract negative effects of drought on taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity: resilience in annual plant communities Abstract 1- Climate models forecast changes in the amounts and distribution of rain, which may affect ecosystems worldwide, especially in drylands where water is already the limiting factor for plant life. Annual plant communities are common in drylands where they can complete their entire life cycle during the rainy period while avoiding the dry season. Moreover, seed dormancy allows them to disperse over time by remaining in the seed bank for long periods. However, the extent to which these communities will be able to tolerate increasing drought is uncertain. 2- We performed a five-year rainfall reduction treatment under field conditions and determined its effects on annual plant communities in a Mediterranean gypsum ecosystem. We assessed the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of these communities each year for five years. 3-The taxonomic and functional diversity decreased under the rainfall reduction treatment whereas the phylogenetic diversity increased. Moreover, the relative importance of species with drought-resistant functional designs increased in the community assemblages. However, after a rainy season with above average rainfall, all of the diversity values recovered completely even under the rainfall reduction treatment. 4- Our results provide important insights into the responses of these plant communities under a climate change scenario, where they indicate high losses of diversity during drought events but rapid recovery in milder years. Synthesis Our findings highlight the great resilience of annual plant communities in drylands, which may allow them to tolerate increased drought under the present climate change scenario.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Rain shelters", "Drought", "13. Climate action", "Gypsum soils", "Annual communities", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water", "Functional traits", "Mediterranean drylands", "Phylogenetic diversity"], "contacts": [{"organization": "L\u00f3pez-Rubio, Roberto, Pescador, David S., Escudero, Adri\u00e1n, S\u00e1nchez, Ana M.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6584980"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5281/zenodo.6584980", "name": "item", "description": "10.5281/zenodo.6584980", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5281/zenodo.6584980"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-05-27T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5281/zenodo.6584981", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:20:51Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Dataset of Rainy years counteract negative effects of drought on taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity: resilience in annual plant communities", "description": "Data used in the article: Rainy years counteract negative effects of drought on taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity: resilience in annual plant communities Abstract 1- Climate models forecast changes in the amounts and distribution of rain, which may affect ecosystems worldwide, especially in drylands where water is already the limiting factor for plant life. Annual plant communities are common in drylands where they can complete their entire life cycle during the rainy period while avoiding the dry season. Moreover, seed dormancy allows them to disperse over time by remaining in the seed bank for long periods. However, the extent to which these communities will be able to tolerate increasing drought is uncertain. 2- We performed a five-year rainfall reduction treatment under field conditions and determined its effects on annual plant communities in a Mediterranean gypsum ecosystem. We assessed the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of these communities each year for five years. 3-The taxonomic and functional diversity decreased under the rainfall reduction treatment whereas the phylogenetic diversity increased. Moreover, the relative importance of species with drought-resistant functional designs increased in the community assemblages. However, after a rainy season with above average rainfall, all of the diversity values recovered completely even under the rainfall reduction treatment. 4- Our results provide important insights into the responses of these plant communities under a climate change scenario, where they indicate high losses of diversity during drought events but rapid recovery in milder years. Synthesis Our findings highlight the great resilience of annual plant communities in drylands, which may allow them to tolerate increased drought under the present climate change scenario.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Rain shelters", "Drought", "13. Climate action", "Gypsum soils", "Annual communities", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water", "Functional traits", "Mediterranean drylands", "Phylogenetic diversity"], "contacts": [{"organization": "L\u00f3pez-Rubio, Roberto, Pescador, David S., Escudero, Adri\u00e1n, S\u00e1nchez, Ana M.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6584981"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5281/zenodo.6584981", "name": "item", "description": "10.5281/zenodo.6584981", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5281/zenodo.6584981"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-05-27T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5281/zenodo.3572794", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:20:44Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-05-14", "title": "Global drivers of methane oxidation and denitrifying gene distribution in drylands", "description": "AbstractAim

Microorganisms carrying pmoA and nosZ genes are major drivers of methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from soils. However, most studies on these organisms have been conducted in mesic ecosystems; therefore, little is known about the factors driving their distribution in drylands, the largest biome on Earth. We conducted a global survey to evaluate the role of climate\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and soil\uffe2\uff80\uff90related variables as predictors of the richness, abundance and community structure of bacteria carrying pmoA and nosZ genes.

Location

Eighty dryland ecosystems distributed worldwide.

Time period

From February 2006 to December 2011.

Major taxa studied

Methanotrophic (carrying the pmoA gene) and denitrifiying (carrying the nosZ gene) bacteria.

Methods

We used data from a field survey and structural equation modelling to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of climatic (aridity, rainfall seasonality and mean annual temperature) and soil (organic carbon, pH and texture) variables on the total abundance, richness and community structure of microorganisms carrying pmoA and nosZ genes.

Results

Taxa related to Methylococcus capsulatus or Methylocapsa sp., often associated with mesic environments, were common in global drylands. The abundance and richness of methanotrophs were not associated with climate or soil properties. However, mean annual temperature, rainfall seasonality, organic C, pH and sand content were highly correlated with their community structure. Aridity and soil variables, such as sand content and pH, were correlated with the abundance, community structure and richness of the nosZ bacterial community.

Main conclusions

Our study provides new insights into the drivers of the abundance, richness and community structure of soil microorganisms carrying pmoA and nosZ genes in drylands worldwide. We highlight how ongoing climate change will alter the structure of soil microorganisms, which might affect the net CH4 exchange and will probably reduce the capacity of dryland soils to carry out the final step of denitrification, favouring net N2O emissions.Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment. https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1etJPcA-Ik6yb Units for response variables in .csv files are as follows. Please reach out to scm229@cornell.edu with any questions about using the files or the data within. -- Aboveground biomass: total (Mg ha-1), carbon (Mg C ha-1), nitrogen (kg N ha-1) Bulk density: g cm-3 Respiration (Rs): micro mol m-2 s-1 Roots: Mg C ha-1 Soil C and N: organic and inorganic carbon (Mg C ha-1), nitrogen (Mg N ha-1)", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Dryland", "13. Climate action", "Agriculture", "15. Life on land", "Soil carbon"], "contacts": [{"organization": "McClelland, Shelby C., Cotrufo, M. Francesca, Haddix, Michelle L., Paustian, Keith, Schipanski, Meagan E.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6412372"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5281/zenodo.6412372", "name": "item", "description": "10.5281/zenodo.6412372", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5281/zenodo.6412372"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-03-25T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10045/97692", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:21:36Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-06-27", "title": "Plant-driven niche differentiation of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in global drylands", "description": "Abstract

Under controlled laboratory conditions, high and low ammonium availability are known to favor soil ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) communities, respectively. However, whether this niche segregation is maintained under field conditions in terrestrial ecosystems remains unresolved, particularly at the global scale. We hypothesized that perennial vegetation might favor AOB vs. AOA communities compared with adjacent open areas devoid of perennial vegetation (i.e., bare soil) via several mechanisms, including increasing the amount of ammonium in soil. To test this niche-differentiation hypothesis, we conducted a global field survey including 80 drylands from 6 continents. Data supported our hypothesis, as soils collected under plant canopies had higher levels of ammonium, as well as higher richness (number of terminal restriction fragments; T-RFs) and abundance (qPCR amoA genes) of AOB, and lower richness and abundance of AOA, than those collected in open areas located between plant canopies. Some of the reported associations between plant canopies and AOA and AOB communities can be a consequence of the higher organic matter and available N contents found under plant canopies. Other aspects of soils associated with vegetation including shading and microclimatic conditions might also help explain our results. Our findings provide strong evidence for niche differentiation between AOA and AOB communities in drylands worldwide, advancing our understanding of their ecology and biogeography at the global scale.Under controlled laboratory conditions, high and low ammonium availability are known to favor soil ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) communities, respectively. However, whether this niche segregation is maintained under field conditions in terrestrial ecosystems remains unresolved, particularly at the global scale. We hypothesized that perennial vegetation might favor AOB vs. AOA communities compared with adjacent open areas devoid of perennial vegetation (i.e., bare soil) via several mechanisms, including increasing the amount of ammonium in soil. To test this niche-differentiation hypothesis, we conducted a global field survey including 80 drylands from 6 continents. Data supported our hypothesis, as soils collected under plant canopies had higher levels of ammonium, as well as higher richness (number of terminal restriction fragments; T-RFs) and abundance (qPCR amoA genes) of AOB, and lower richness and abundance of AOA, than those collected in open areas located between plant canopies. Some of the reported associations between plant canopies and AOA and AOB communities can be a consequence of the higher organic matter and available N contents found under plant canopies. Other aspects of soils associated with vegetation including shading and microclimatic conditions might also help explain our results. Our findings provide strong evidence for niche differentiation between AOA and AOB communities in drylands worldwide, advancing our understanding of their ecology and biogeography at the global scale.

Natural and seminatural habitat remnants play a crucial ecological role in intensified agroecosystems. Assumptions on the conservation value of small and poorly connected fragments in a hostile matrix come from generalization obtained from a limited number of taxa, mostly plants, and vertebrates. To date, few studies have analyzed the effect of fragmentation on ant communities in Mediterranean agroecosystems, despite the importance of this group of animals on several key ecosystem functions and services. Here, we analyze the effects of fragment area and connectivity on ant communities in gypsum outcrops in a large cereal agroecosystem of Central Spain. Ant communities were described by their species composition, abundance (total number of occurrences), and number of species, standardized both by area (species density), and abundance (species richness). Observed number of species was relatively high in comparison with other studies in the Mediterranean, and we found no effects of fragment characteristics on species density, species richness and species composition, which implies that even small and isolated patches do have a value for ant conservation. Moreover, total number of occurrences were higher for smaller and more isolated fragments. This finding contrasts with the results reported for other taxa in similar gypsum habitats and suggests that certain ant traits and strategies make them particularly resistant to fragmentation and capable to take advantage of small habitat patches. Given the important ecological role played by ants, we recommend the preservation of these small habitat fragments in the management plans of agroecosystems in these drylands, especially in those cases in which intensification of agricultural practices greatly diminish natural habitat availability.

", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "drylands", "agroecosystems", "gypsum habitats", "Ecology", "Evolution", "Ants", "ants", "Biodiversity", "15. Life on land", "Biolog\u00eda y Biomedicina / Biolog\u00eda", "01 natural sciences", "13. Climate action", "fragmentation", "QH359-425", "biodiversity conservation", "Crematogaster", "14. Life underwater", "QH540-549.5"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10486/705687"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Frontiers%20in%20Ecology%20and%20Evolution", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10486/705687", "name": "item", "description": "10486/705687", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10486/705687"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2021-03-16T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10486/714786", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:21:48Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-04-01", "title": "Aridity and reduced soil micronutrient availability in global drylands", "description": "Drylands cover more than 40% of terrestrial surface, and their global extent and socio-ecological importance will increase in the future due to the forecasted increases in aridity driven by climate change. Despite the essential role of metallic micronutrients in life chemistry and ecosystem functioning, it is virtually unknown how their bioavailability changes along aridity gradients at the global scale. Here we analysed soil total and available Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in 143 drylands from all continents, except Antarctica, covering a broad range of aridity and soil conditions. We found that total and available micronutrient concentrations in dryland soils were low compared to averages commonly found in soils of natural and agricultural ecosystems globally. Aridity negatively affected the availability of all micronutrients evaluated, mainly indirectly by increasing soil pH and decreasing soil organic matter. Remarkably, the available Fe:Zn ratio decreased exponentially as aridity increased, pointing to stoichiometric alterations. Our findings suggest that increased aridity conditions due to climate change will limit the availability of essential micronutrients for organisms, particularly that of Fe and Zn, which together with other adverse effects (e.g., reduced water availability) may pose serious threats to key ecological processes and services, such as food production, in drylands worldwide.", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "2. Zero hunger", "drylands", "03 medical and health sciences", "aridity", "13. Climate action", "micronutrients", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Qu\u00edmica", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0262-x.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10486/714786"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Nature%20Sustainability", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10486/714786", "name": "item", "description": "10486/714786", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10486/714786"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-04-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10568/97603", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-20T16:21:49Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-07-04", "title": "A framework for scaling sustainable land management options", "description": "Abstract

Improvements in land use and management are needed at a global scale to tackle interconnected global challenges of population growth, poverty, migration, climate change, biodiversity loss, and degrading land and water resources. There are hundreds of technical options for improving the sustainability of land management and preventing or reversing degradation, but there are many sociocultural, institutional, economic, and policy barriers hindering their adoption at large scale. To tackle this challenge, the Dryland Systems Program of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification convened an expert group to consider barriers and incentives to scaling technologies, processes, policies, or institutional arrangements. The group reviewed existing frameworks for scaling sustainable land management (SLM) interventions across a range of contexts and identified eight critical actions for success: (a) plan iteratively; (b) consistently fund; (c) select SLM options for scaling based on best available evidence; (d) identify and engage with stakeholders at all scales; (e) build capacity for scaling; (f) foster institutional leadership and policy change to support scaling; (g) achieve early benefits and incentives for as many stakeholders as possible; and (h) monitor, evaluate, and communicate. Incentives for scaling were identified for the private sector, farmers and their communities, and policy makers. Based on these findings, a new action framework for scaling is presented that analyses the contexts where specific SLM interventions can be scaled, so that SLM options can be screened and adapted to these contexts, piloted and disseminated. The framework can help countries achieve land degradation neutrality.