135479 20260217205522.0 doi 10.1038/s41477-024-01670-7 sideral 138629 ART-2024-138629 eng Eldridge, David J. Hotspots of biogeochemical activity linked to aridity and plant traits across global drylands 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Perennial plants create productive and biodiverse hotspots, known as fertile islands, beneath their canopies. These hotspots largely determine the structure and functioning of drylands worldwide. Despite their ubiquity, the factors controlling fertile islands under conditions of contrasting grazing by livestock, the most prevalent land use in drylands, remain virtually unknown. Here we evaluated the relative importance of grazing pressure and herbivore type, climate and plant functional traits on 24 soil physical and chemical attributes that represent proxies of key ecosystem services related to decomposition, soil fertility, and soil and water conservation. To do this, we conducted a standardized global survey of 288 plots at 88 sites in 25 countries worldwide. We show that aridity and plant traits are the major factors associated with the magnitude of plant effects on fertile islands in grazed drylands worldwide. Grazing pressure had little influence on the capacity of plants to support fertile islands. Taller and wider shrubs and grasses supported stronger island effects. Stable and functional soils tended to be linked to species-rich sites with taller plants. Together, our findings dispel the notion that grazing pressure or herbivore type are linked to the formation or intensification of fertile islands in drylands. Rather, our study suggests that changes in aridity, and processes that alter island identity and therefore plant traits, will have marked effects on how perennial plants support and maintain the functioning of drylands in a more arid and grazed world. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess All rights reserved http://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/ 13.6 2024 PLANT SCIENCES 4 / 273 = 0.015 2024 Q1 T1 4.815 2024 Plant Science 2024 Q1 24.4 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion Ding, Jingyi Dorrough, Josh Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel Sala, Osvaldo Gross, Nicolas Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Yoann Mallen-Cooper, Max Saiz, Hugo Universidad de Zaragoza Asensio, Sergio Ochoa, Victoria Gozalo, Beatriz Guirado, Emilio García-Gómez, Miguel Valencia, Enrique Martínez-Valderrama, Jaime Plaza, César Abedi, Mehdi Ahmadian, Negar Ahumada, Rodrigo J. Alcántara, Julio M. Amghar, Fateh Azevedo, Luísa Ben Salem, Farah Berdugo, Miguel Blaum, Niels Boldgiv, Bazartseren Bowker, Matthew Bran, Donaldo Bu, Chongfeng Canessa, Rafaella Castillo-Monroy, Andrea P. Castro, Ignacio Castro-Quezada, Patricio Cesarz, Simone Chibani, Roukaya Conceição, Abel Augusto Darrouzet-Nardi, Anthony Davila, Yvonne C. Deák, Balázs Díaz-Martínez, Paloma Donoso, David A. Dougill, Andrew David Durán, Jorge Eisenhauer, Nico Ejtehadi, Hamid Espinosa, Carlos Ivan Fajardo, Alex Farzam, Mohammad Foronda, Ana Universidad de Zaragoza Franzese, Jorgelina Fraser, Lauchlan H. Gaitán, Juan Geissler, Katja Gonzalez, Sofía Laura Gusman-Montalvan, Elizabeth Hernández, Rosa Mary Hölzel, Norbert Hughes, Frederic Mendes Jadan, Oswaldo Jentsch, Anke Ju, Mengchen Kaseke, Kudzai F. Köbel, Melanie Lehmann, Anika Liancourt, Pierre Linstädter, Anja Louw, Michelle A. Ma, Quanhui Mabaso, Mancha Maggs-Kölling, Gillian Makhalanyane, Thulani P. Issa, Oumarou Malam Marais, Eugene McClaran, Mitchel Mendoza, Betty Mokoka, Vincent Mora, Juan P. Moreno, Gerardo Munson, Seth Nunes, Alice Oliva, Gabriel Oñatibia, Gastón R. Osborne, Brooke Peter, Guadalupe Pierre, Margerie Pueyo, Yolanda Emiliano Quiroga, R. Reed, Sasha Rey, Ana Rey, Pedro Gómez, Víctor Manuel Reyes Rolo, Víctor Rillig, Matthias C. le Roux, Peter C. Ruppert, Jan Christian Salah, Ayman Sebei, Phokgedi Julius Sharkhuu, Anarmaa Stavi, Ilan Stephens, Colton Teixido, Alberto L. Thomas, Andrew David Tielbörger, Katja Robles, Silvia Torres Travers, Samantha Valkó, Orsolya van den Brink, Liesbeth Velbert, Frederike von Heßberg, Andreas Wamiti, Wanyoike Wang, Deli Wang, Lixin Wardle, Glenda M. Yahdjian, Laura Zaady, Eli Zhang, Yuanming Zhou, Xiaobing Maestre, Fernando T. 5011 220 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. CC.Agrar.y Medio Natural Área Ecología 5011 705 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. CC.Agrar.y Medio Natural Área Producción Vegetal 10 (2024), 760–770 Nat. plants Nature Plants 2055-026X 3642680 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/135479/files/texto_completo.pdf Postprint info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2024-10-12 2545433 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/135479/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Postprint info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2024-10-12 oai:zaguan.unizar.es:135479 articulos driver 2026-02-17-20:28:56 ARTICLE