000165721 001__ 165721 000165721 005__ 20260113234335.0 000165721 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1111/1365-2745.70222 000165721 0248_ $$2sideral$$a147097 000165721 037__ $$aART-2025-147097 000165721 041__ $$aeng 000165721 100__ $$aShilula, Kaarina N. 000165721 245__ $$aDrivers of plant phenolic concentration across global drylands 000165721 260__ $$c2025 000165721 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000165721 5203_ $$aPlant phenolics play a key role in plant defence mechanisms against both biotic and abiotic stressors. However, their responses to environmental variables and grazing pressure across large geographical scales remain poorly understood. Using data from a global survey of 325 plots spanning six continents, we examined how climatic factors, soil properties, leaf nutrients and grazing pressure shape leaf phenolic concentration in 1854 plant species (1280 herbaceous and 574 woody) across global drylands. Our findings reveal that leaf phenolic concentration in herbaceous plants was mainly influenced by grazing pressure and its interactions with leaf nitrogen and iron, which together explained over 50% of observed variation across global drylands. Conversely, phenolic concentration in woody plants was strongly associated with climatic factors, particularly mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual temperature (MAT), which accounted for 80% of the observed variation. While MAP had a positive effect on leaf phenolic concentration in woody plants, grazing pressure buffered this relationship by reducing the influence of MAP. Synthesis. Our study advances the understanding of how biotic and abiotic stressors shape plant defence strategies in global drylands. Our findings shed novel insights about how plant secondary metabolites and their associated functions shift in response to changes in climate and grazing pressure, two key global change drivers with significant implications for ecosystem resilience in drylands worldwide. 000165721 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/647038/EU/Biological feedbacks and ecosystem resilience under global change: a new perspective on dryland desertification/BIODESERT$$9This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No H2020 647038-BIODESERT 000165721 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es 000165721 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 000165721 700__ $$aSaiz, Hugo$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000165721 700__ $$aGuirado, Emilio 000165721 700__ $$aGross, Nicolas 000165721 700__ $$aLe Bagousse-Pinguet, Yoann 000165721 700__ $$aBiancari, Lucio 000165721 700__ $$aPueyo, Yolanda 000165721 700__ $$aMoreira, Xoaquín 000165721 700__ $$aEldridge, David J. 000165721 700__ $$aOchoa, Victoria 000165721 700__ $$aGozalo, Beatriz 000165721 700__ $$aAsensio, Sergio 000165721 700__ $$aMendoza, Betty J. 000165721 700__ $$aValencia, Enrique 000165721 700__ $$aGarcía-Gómez, Miguel 000165721 700__ $$aGaitán, Juan J. 000165721 700__ $$aPlaza, César 000165721 700__ $$aMartínez-Valderrama, Jaime 000165721 700__ $$aMaestre, Fernando T. 000165721 7102_ $$15011$$2220$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. CC.Agrar.y Medio Natural$$cÁrea Ecología 000165721 773__ $$g114, 1 (2025), e70222 [14 pp.]$$pJ. ecol.$$tJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY$$x0022-0477 000165721 787__ $$tDrivers of phenolic concentration across global drylands$$whttps://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28295999 000165721 8564_ $$s1338440$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/165721/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada 000165721 8564_ $$s1962819$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/165721/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada 000165721 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:165721$$particulos$$pdriver 000165721 951__ $$a2026-01-13-22:06:52 000165721 980__ $$aARTICLE