Dryland mechanisms could widely control ecosystem functioning in a drier and warmer world

José M. Grünzweig; Hans J. De Boeck; Ana Rey; Maria J. Santos; Ori Adam; Michael Bahn; Jayne Belnap; Gaby Deckmyn; Stefan C. Dekker; Omar Flores; Daniel Gliksman; David Helman; Kevin R. Hultine; Lingli Liu; Ehud Meron; Yaron Michael; Efrat Sheffer; Heather L. Throop; Omer Tzuk; Dan Yakir

doi:10.1038/s41559-022-01779-y

Dryland mechanisms could widely control ecosystem functioning in a drier and warmer world

José M. Grünzweig, Hans J. De Boeck, Ana Rey, Maria J. Santos, Ori Adam, Michael Bahn, Jayne Belnap, Gaby Deckmyn, Stefan C. Dekker, Omar Flores, Daniel Gliksman, David Helman, Kevin R. Hultine, Lingli Liu, Ehud Meron, Yaron Michael, Efrat Sheffer, Heather L. Throop, Omer Tzuk, Dan Yakir

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

67 Scopus citations

Abstract

Responses of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change have been explored in many regions worldwide. While continued drying and warming may alter process rates and deteriorate the state and performance of ecosystems, it could also lead to more fundamental changes in the mechanisms governing ecosystem functioning. Here we argue that climate change will induce unprecedented shifts in these mechanisms in historically wetter climatic zones, towards mechanisms currently prevalent in dry regions, which we refer to as ‘dryland mechanisms’. We discuss 12 dryland mechanisms affecting multiple processes of ecosystem functioning, including vegetation development, water flow, energy budget, carbon and nutrient cycling, plant production and organic matter decomposition. We then examine mostly rare examples of the operation of these mechanisms in non-dryland regions where they have been considered irrelevant at present. Current and future climate trends could force microclimatic conditions across thresholds and lead to the emergence of dryland mechanisms and their increasing control over ecosystem functioning in many biomes on Earth.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1064-1076
Number of pages	13
Journal	Nature Ecology and Evolution
Volume	6
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01779-y
State	Published - Aug 2022
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, Springer Nature Limited.

Funding

We thank S. Feng and Q. Fu for sharing their P/PET data, T. Chapin and C. Körner for critically reviewing the paper, and L. Bigio and N. Kasher for assistance with and creation of the figures. This article profited greatly from discussions with I. Janssens, I. Nijs, S. Vicca, Y. Mau and R. Wallach. The basic idea for this Perspective was developed during a symposium at the 13 European Ecological Federation conference and was further developed as part of the ClimMani COST Action ES1308 activities. The support of the Israel Science Foundation is acknowledged by J.M.G. (grant number 1796/19), O.A. (1185/17) and E.M. (1053/17). M.B. acknowledges funding through the ÖAW-ESS project ClimGrassHydro (Austrian Academy of Sciences). th We thank S. Feng and Q. Fu for sharing their P /PET data, T. Chapin and C. Körner for critically reviewing the paper, and L. Bigio and N. Kasher for assistance with and creation of the figures. This article profited greatly from discussions with I. Janssens, I. Nijs, S. Vicca, Y. Mau and R. Wallach. The basic idea for this Perspective was developed during a symposium at the 13thEuropean Ecological Federation conference and was further developed as part of the ClimMani COST Action ES1308 activities. The support of the Israel Science Foundation is acknowledged by J.M.G. (grant number 1796/19), O.A. (1185/17) and E.M. (1053/17). M.B. acknowledges funding through the ÖAW-ESS project ClimGrassHydro (Austrian Academy of Sciences).

Funders	Funder number
European Cooperation in Science and Technology	ES1308
Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Israel Science Foundation	1053/17, 1185/17, 1796/19

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1038/s41559-022-01779-y

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Grünzweig, J. M., De Boeck, H. J., Rey, A., Santos, M. J., Adam, O., Bahn, M., Belnap, J., Deckmyn, G., Dekker, S. C., Flores, O., Gliksman, D., Helman, D., Hultine, K. R., Liu, L., Meron, E., Michael, Y., Sheffer, E., Throop, H. L., Tzuk, O., & Yakir, D. (2022). Dryland mechanisms could widely control ecosystem functioning in a drier and warmer world. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 6(8), 1064-1076. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01779-y

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abstract = "Responses of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change have been explored in many regions worldwide. While continued drying and warming may alter process rates and deteriorate the state and performance of ecosystems, it could also lead to more fundamental changes in the mechanisms governing ecosystem functioning. Here we argue that climate change will induce unprecedented shifts in these mechanisms in historically wetter climatic zones, towards mechanisms currently prevalent in dry regions, which we refer to as {\textquoteleft}dryland mechanisms{\textquoteright}. We discuss 12 dryland mechanisms affecting multiple processes of ecosystem functioning, including vegetation development, water flow, energy budget, carbon and nutrient cycling, plant production and organic matter decomposition. We then examine mostly rare examples of the operation of these mechanisms in non-dryland regions where they have been considered irrelevant at present. Current and future climate trends could force microclimatic conditions across thresholds and lead to the emergence of dryland mechanisms and their increasing control over ecosystem functioning in many biomes on Earth.",

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Grünzweig, JM, De Boeck, HJ, Rey, A, Santos, MJ, Adam, O, Bahn, M, Belnap, J, Deckmyn, G, Dekker, SC, Flores, O, Gliksman, D, Helman, D, Hultine, KR, Liu, L, Meron, E, Michael, Y, Sheffer, E, Throop, HL, Tzuk, O & Yakir, D 2022, 'Dryland mechanisms could widely control ecosystem functioning in a drier and warmer world', Nature Ecology and Evolution, vol. 6, no. 8, pp. 1064-1076. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01779-y

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AU - Liu, Lingli

AU - Meron, Ehud

AU - Michael, Yaron

AU - Sheffer, Efrat

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Dryland mechanisms could widely control ecosystem functioning in a drier and warmer world

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

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