{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "10.1016/j.agsy.2005.09.009", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-27T16:15:50Z", "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.jaridenv.2005.12.008", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:16:52Z", "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": "10.1002/eco.1490", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:14:20Z", "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": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:14:26Z", "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.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.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.

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": "2026-07-27T16:19:48Z", "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.

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

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": "2026-07-27T16:21:53Z", "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": "10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v5k", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:22:25Z", "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.mgqnk992r", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:22:31Z", "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": "1959.7/uws:64529", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:26:34Z", "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/1959.7/uws:64529"}, {"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": "1959.7/uws:64529", "name": "item", "description": "1959.7/uws:64529", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/1959.7/uws:64529"}, {"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": "10451/52117", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:26:02Z", "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": "2930629102", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:27:18Z", "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": ["2. Zero hunger", "0301 basic medicine", "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/2930629102"}, {"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": "2930629102", "name": "item", "description": "2930629102", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/2930629102"}, {"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": "2954010181", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:27:19Z", "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.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.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": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:24:34Z", "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": "10568/97603", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:26:05Z", "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.

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": "10045/97692", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:25:45Z", "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.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.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.

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.

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 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.

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/2072/444775"}, {"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": "2072/444775", "name": "item", "description": "2072/444775", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/2072/444775"}, {"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": "2263/91312", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:27:01Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-11-24", "title": "Grazing and ecosystem service delivery in global drylands", "description": "

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", "Climate", "Edafolog\u00eda (Biolog\u00eda)", "630", "3104 Producci\u00f3n Animal", "Dryland", "Soil", "636", "2511.06 Conservaci\u00f3n de Suelos", "591.5", "Climate change", "3104.90 Sistemas de Producci\u00f3n Ganadera", "biodiversity", "2. Zero hunger", "2417.13 Ecolog\u00eda Vegetal", "Qu\u00edmica", "Biodiversity", "2502 Climatolog\u00eda", "Grazing", "2401.06 Ecolog\u00eda Animal", "[SDE]Environmental Sciences", "ddc:570", "Rangeland", "581.5", "Ecolog\u00eda (Biolog\u00eda)", "570", "632.11", "Ecosystem services (ES)", "Livestock", "Climate Change", "631.45", "Wild", "SDG-02: Zero hunger", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Humans", "Ecosystem services", "grazing", "Herbivory", "14. Life underwater", "climate", "Institut f\u00fcr Biochemie und Biologie", "631.585", "Ecosystem", "551.583", "SDG-15: Life on land", "3103.10 Pastos", "Systems", "Drylands", "15. Life on land", "13. Climate action", "58.032.3", "Veterinaria", "ecosystem services"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://repositorio.ulisboa.pt/bitstream/10451/56169/1/abq4062_CombinedPDF_v4.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/2263/91312"}, {"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": "2263/91312", "name": "item", "description": "2263/91312", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/2263/91312"}, {"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": "3138037657", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-07-27T16:27:38Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2021-03-16", "title": "Ant Communities Resist Even in Small and Isolated Gypsum Habitat Remnants in a Mediterranean Agroecosystem", "description": "

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.

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