The Relationship Between Grazing Pressure and Environmental Factors Drives Vegetation Fragmentation Across Global Drylands
2025
Zhao, Yanchuang | Kéfi, Sonia | Guirado, Emilio | Berdugo, Miguel | Eldridge, David | Gross, Nicolas | Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Yoann | Saiz, Hugo | Asensio, Sergio | Ochoa, Victoria | Gozalo, Bea | Martínez-Valderrama, Jaime | Plaza, César | Valencia, Enrique | Maestre, Fernando | Henan University of Science and Technology | Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (UMR ISEM) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR226-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM) | Santa Fe Institute | Universidad de Alicante | Universidad Complutense de Madrid = Complutense University of Madrid [Madrid] (UCM) | University of New South Wales [Sydney] (UNSW) | Unité Mixte de Recherche sur l'Ecosystème Prairial - UMR (UREP) ; VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) | Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (IMBE) ; Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Universidad de Zaragoza = University of Zaragoza [Saragossa University] = Université de Saragosse | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas [España] = Spanish National Research Council [Spain] (CSIC) | Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA) ; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas [España] = Spanish National Research Council [Spain] (CSIC) | the National Key Research and Development Program of China. Grant Number: 2023YFF0806600the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Grant Number: 42307560the Key Scientific Research Projects of Colleges and Universities in Henan Province. Grant Number: 24A170014the High-Level Foreign Expert Recruitment Program of Henan Province. Grant Number: HNGD2025025the Key Projects of Science and Technology Research of Henan Province. Grant Number: 232102320268the International Science and Technology Collaboration Program of Henan Province. Grant Number: 252102520050the Cultivation Programme for Young Backbone Teachers in Henan University of Technology. Grant Number: 0008/21421292the European Research Council. Grant Number: Grant Agreement number 647038the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the KAUST Climate and Livability InitiativeRamón y Cajal fellowship from Spanish Ministry of Science. Grant Number: RYC2021-031797-IMaría Zambrano fellowship funded by the Ministry of Universities and European Union-Next Generation plan | European Project: 647038,ERC-2014-CoG,ERC-2014-CoG,BIODESERT(2016)
International audience
显示更多 [+] 显示较少 [-]英语. Aim To evaluate how grazing pressure, a key land‐use factor, interacts with climatic, vegetation, and soil variables to shape the fragmentation of perennial vegetation across drylands globally. Location 171 plots across 25 countries on six continents. Time Period Field data: 2016–2019. Major Taxa Studied Perennial grasses, shrubs, and woody plants. Methods We conducted a standardised field survey across 171 45 m × 45 m plots to assess grazing pressure, vegetation, and soil properties. Vegetation fragmentation was quantified using three patch‐based metrics derived from high‐resolution satellite images. Linear mixed‐effects models were used to relate fragmentation to climatic, vegetation, and soil variables. Predictor importance was assessed through multi‐model inference and validated using a random forest approach. Results Vegetation fragmentation increased with aridity, and this effect was 4.7 times stronger under high grazing pressure than under low pressure. The most influential interactions involved grazing pressure with soil amelioration (49.7% importance) and with vegetation cover (44.6%). Soil amelioration—measured as the enrichment of soil organic carbon beneath vegetation—reduced fragmentation, especially under high grazing pressure. In contrast, the ability of vegetation cover to sustain large patches diminished as grazing intensity increased. Soil amelioration was strongly linked to the proportion of facilitated plant species ( p < 0.01), whereas soil organic carbon alone—beneath vegetation ( p = 0.37) or in bare areas ( p = 0.94)—was not significantly related. Main Conclusions Grazing pressure and aridity interact to intensify vegetation fragmentation, potentially accelerating land degradation in drylands under future climate and land‐use scenarios. Mitigating this fragmentation requires not only enhancing vegetation cover but also promoting plant–soil facilitation processes, especially under high grazing pressure. These findings underscore the critical role of plant‐driven soil amelioration in maintaining ecosystem structure and resilience across global drylands.
显示更多 [+] 显示较少 [-]