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Drivers of woody dominance across global drylands

Lucio Biancari·Martin R. Aguiar·David J. Eldridge·Gastón R. Oñatibia·Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet·Hugo Saiz·Nicolas Gross·Amy T. Austin·Victoria Ochoa·Beatriz Gozalo·Sergio Asensio·Emilio Guirado·Enrique Valencia·Miguel Berdugo·Cesar Plaza·Jaime Martinez-Valderrama·Betty J. Mendoza·Miguel García-Gómez·Mehdi Abedi·Rodrigo J. Ahumada·Julio M. Alcantara·Fateh Amghar·Jose D. Anadon·Valeria Aramayo·Tulio Arredondo·Maaike Y. Bader·Khadijeh Bahalkeh·Farah Ben Salem·Niels Blaum·Bazartseren Boldgiv·Matthew A. Bowker·Cristina Branquinho·Chongfeng Bu·Batbold Byambatsogt·Dianela A. Calvo·Andrea P. Castillo Monroy·Helena Castro·Patricio Castro-Quezada·Roukaya Chibani·Abel A. Conceição·Courtney M. Currier·David A. Donoso·Andrew David Dougill·Hamid Ejtehadi·Carlos I. Espinosa·Alex Fajardo·Mohammad Farzam·Daniela Ferrante·Lauchlan H. Fraser·Juan J. Gaitan·Laureano A. Gherardi·Elizabeth Gusman-Montalvan·Rosa M. Hernández-Hernández·Norbert Holzel·Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald·Frederic M. Hughes·Oswaldo Jadan-Maza·Florian Jeltsch·Anke Jentsch·Mengchen Ju·Kudzai F. Kaseke·Liana Kindermann·Melanie Kobel·Peter C. le Roux·Pierre Liancourt·Anja Linstadter·Jushan Liu·Michelle A. Louw·Gillian Maggs-Kolling·Oumarou Malam Issa·Eugene Marais·Pierre Margerie·Joao Vitor S. Messeder·Juan P. Mora·Gerardo Moreno·Seth M. Munson·Gabriel Oliva·Yolanda Pueyo·R. Emiliano Quiroga·Sasha C. Reed·Pedro J. Rey·Alexandra Rodriguez·Laura B. Rodriguez·Víctor Rolo·Jan C. Ruppert·Osvaldo E. Sala·Ayman Salah·Ilan Stavi·Colton R. A. Stephens·Anthony M. Swemmer·Alberto L. Teixido·Andrew D. Thomas·Heather L. Throop·Katja Tielborger·Samantha K. Travers·Liesbeth van den Brink·Viktoria Wagner·Wanyoike Wamiti·Deli Wang·Lixin Wang
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Abstract

Increases in the abundance of woody species have been reported to affect the provisioning of ecosystem services in drylands worldwide. However, it is virtually unknown how multiple biotic and abiotic drivers, such as climate, grazing, and fire, interact to determine woody dominance across global drylands. We conducted a standardized field survey in 304 plots across 25 countries to assess how climatic features, soil properties, grazing, and fire affect woody dominance in dryland rangelands. Precipitation, temperature, and grazing were key determinants of tree and shrub dominance. The effects of grazing were determined not solely by grazing pressure but also by the dominant livestock species. Interactions between soil, climate, and grazing and differences in responses to these factors between trees and shrubs were key to understanding changes in woody dominance. Our findings suggest that projected changes in climate and grazing pressure may increase woody dominance in drylands, altering their structure and functioning.

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Lucio Biancari, Martin R. Aguiar, David J. Eldridge, Gastón R. Oñatibia, Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Hugo Saiz, Nicolas Gross, Amy T. Austin, Victoria Ochoa, Beatriz Gozalo, Sergio Asensio, Emilio Guirado, Enrique Valencia, Miguel Berdugo, Cesar Plaza, Jaime Martinez-Valderrama, Betty J. Mendoza, Miguel García-Gómez, Mehdi Abedi, Rodrigo J. Ahumada, Julio M. Alcantara, Fateh Amghar, Jose D. Anadon, Valeria Aramayo, Tulio Arredondo, Maaike Y. Bader, Khadijeh Bahalkeh, Farah Ben Salem, Niels Blaum, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Matthew A. Bowker, Cristina Branquinho, Chongfeng Bu, Batbold Byambatsogt, Dianela A. Calvo, Andrea P. Castillo Monroy, Helena Castro, Patricio Castro-Quezada, Roukaya Chibani, Abel A. Conceição, Courtney M. Currier, David A. Donoso, Andrew David Dougill, Hamid Ejtehadi, Carlos I. Espinosa, Alex Fajardo, Mohammad Farzam, Daniela Ferrante, Lauchlan H. Fraser, Juan J. Gaitan, Laureano A. Gherardi, Elizabeth Gusman-Montalvan, Rosa M. Hernández-Hernández, Norbert Holzel, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, Frederic M. Hughes, Oswaldo Jadan-Maza, Florian Jeltsch, Anke Jentsch, Mengchen Ju, Kudzai F. Kaseke, Liana Kindermann, Melanie Kobel, Peter C. le Roux, Pierre Liancourt, Anja Linstadter, Jushan Liu, Michelle A. Louw, Gillian Maggs-Kolling, Oumarou Malam Issa, Eugene Marais, Pierre Margerie, Joao Vitor S. Messeder, Juan P. Mora, Gerardo Moreno, Seth M. Munson, Gabriel Oliva, Yolanda Pueyo, R. Emiliano Quiroga, Sasha C. Reed, Pedro J. Rey, Alexandra Rodriguez, Laura B. Rodriguez, Víctor Rolo, Jan C. Ruppert, Osvaldo E. Sala, Ayman Salah, Ilan Stavi, Colton R. A. Stephens, Anthony M. Swemmer, Alberto L. Teixido, Andrew D. Thomas, Heather L. Throop, Katja Tielborger, Samantha K. Travers, Liesbeth van den Brink, Viktoria Wagner, Wanyoike Wamiti, Deli Wang, Lixin Wang. 2024. Drivers of woody dominance across global drylands. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn6007

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