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Sequential Thresholds Shape Drylands' Multitrophic Response to Aridification.

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Drylands face biodiversity loss as aridity increases, with significant declines in taxonomic and trophic richness across all organism groups. Conservation efforts and reduced human disturbance are crucial for mitigating these impacts.

Keywords:
anthropogenic disturbancearidity thresholdsbiodiversity lossdryland ecosystemsprimary productivitytrophic richness

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Biodiversity Science
  • Environmental Science

Background:

  • Drylands support substantial global biodiversity and are sensitive to increasing aridity.
  • Organisms in drylands exhibit non-linear responses to aridity, with critical thresholds leading to biodiversity loss.
  • Impacts of aridity on various trophic levels and interactions with anthropogenic drivers are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate changes in taxonomic and trophic richness of diverse organisms in response to aridity across global dryland ecoregions.
  • To identify threshold responses to aridity and quantify biodiversity losses across different trophic groups.
  • To assess the influence of human disturbance and land-use change on dryland biodiversity under increasing aridity.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of taxonomic and trophic richness across multiple organism groups (bacteria to mammals).
  • Investigation of aridity responses across 290 dryland ecoregions globally.
  • Assessment of biodiversity changes in relation to aridity levels and anthropogenic drivers.

Main Results:

  • All investigated organism groups exhibited sequential threshold responses to increasing aridity.
  • Biodiversity losses ranged from 19% to 54.3% after crossing aridity thresholds, varying by trophic group.
  • Aridity impacts were most pronounced in hyper-arid and arid regions, affecting herbivores and detritivores, and were intensified by human disturbance.

Conclusions:

  • Dryland biodiversity is vulnerable to abrupt declines beyond critical aridity thresholds.
  • Conservation strategies must address both increasing aridity and anthropogenic pressures.
  • Protecting primary productivity and reducing human disturbance can help mitigate biodiversity loss in drylands.