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Climate change is predicted to reduce global belowground ecosystem multifunctionality.

Tiancai Zhou1, Jian Sun2, Chongchong Ye3

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Earth System Resources and Environment of Tibetan Plateau, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

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|October 22, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Belowground ecosystem multifunctionality (BEMF) varies globally, with polar and continental biomes showing higher function than drylands. Climate change, particularly rising temperatures, threatens to significantly reduce BEMF worldwide by 2100.

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Environmental Science
  • Climate Change Research

Background:

  • Climate change is known to cause abrupt shifts in dryland ecosystem functions globally.
  • The worldwide response of belowground ecosystem multifunctionality (BEMF) to future climate change is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate global BEMF in response to climate change.
  • To identify key climate drivers and thresholds affecting BEMF.
  • To predict future changes in BEMF under different climate scenarios.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized fifteen indicators for key ecosystem functions (e.g., belowground productivity, nutrient cycling).
  • Employed averaging, principal component analysis, and single-threshold approaches to assess BEMF.
  • Analyzed spatial variations across Köppen climate biomes and identified a mean annual temperature (MAT) threshold.

Main Results:

  • BEMF exhibited significant spatial variation, being higher in polar and continental biomes than in dry and tropical biomes.
  • An abrupt shift in BEMF was identified at a MAT threshold of approximately 16.4°C.
  • Temperature and soil pH negatively impacted BEMF in cooler regions (MAT ≤ 16.4°C), while precipitation and plant richness were key drivers in warmer regions (MAT > 16.4°C).

Conclusions:

  • Climate change is projected to cause a substantial loss of global BEMF (20.8%) by 2100 under SSP585, especially in temperate and continental biomes.
  • Integrating in situ experiments and Earth system models is crucial for understanding and conserving BEMF under increasing climate change.
  • Findings highlight the vulnerability of belowground ecosystem functions to climate shifts and underscore the need for sustainable management strategies.