The BIODESERT survey: assessing the impacts of grazing on the structure and functioning of global drylands

Grazing by domestic livestock is both the main land use across drylands worldwide and a major desertification and global change driver. The ecological consequences of this key human activity have been studied for decades, and there is a wealth of information on its impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem processes. However, most field assessments of the ecological impacts of grazing on drylands conducted to date have been carried out at local or regional scales and have focused on single ecosystem attributes (e.g., plant productivity) or particular taxa (mainly aboveground, e.g., plants). Here we introduce the BIODESERT survey, the first systematic field survey devoted to evaluating the joint impacts of grazing by domestic livestock and climate on the structure and functioning of dryland ecosystems worldwide. This collaborative global survey was carried out between 2016 and 2019 and has involved the collection of field data and plant, biocrust, and soil samples from a total of 326 45 m × 45 m plots from 98 sites located in 25 countries from 6 continents. Here we describe the major characteristics and the field protocols used in this survey. We also introduce the organizational aspects followed, as these can be helpful to everyone wishing to establish a global collaborative network of researchers. The BIODESERT survey provides baseline data to assess the current status of dryland rangelands worldwide and the impacts of grazing on these key ecosystems, and it constitutes a good example of the power of collaborative research networks to study the ecology of our planet using much-needed field data.This research has been supported by the European Research Council (ERC grant agreement no. 647038 – BIODESERT) and the Conselleria de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital, Generalitat Valenciana (grant no. CIDEGENT/2018/041). Nicolas Gross was supported by CAP 20-25 (16-IDEX-0001) and the AgreenSkills+ fellowship program which has received funding from the EU's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement no. 996 FP7-609398 (AgreenSkills+ contract). Hugo Saiz is supported by a María Zambrano fellowship funded by the Ministry of Universities and European Union Next Generation plan

Biotic and Abiotic Drivers of Topsoil Organic Carbon Concentration in Drylands Have Similar Effects at Regional and Global Scales

Drylands contain 25% of the world’s soil organic carbon (SOC), which is controlled by many factors, both abiotic and biotic. Thus, understanding how these factors control SOC concentration can help to design more sustainable land-use practices in drylands aiming to foster and preserve SOC storage, something particularly important to fight ongoing global warming. We use two independent, largescale databases with contrasting geographic coverage (236 sites in global drylands and 185 sites in Patagonia, Argentina) to evaluate the relative importance of abiotic (precipitation, temperature and soil texture) and biotic (primary productivity) factors as drivers of SOC concentration in drylands at global and regional scales. We found that biotic and abiotic factors had similar effects on SOC concentration across regional and global scales: Maximum temperature and sand content had negative effects, while precipitation and plant productivity exerted positive effects. Our findings provide empirical evidence that increases in temperature and reductions in rainfall, as forecasted by climatic models in many drylands worldwide, promote declines in SOC both directly and indirectly via the reduction in plant productivity. This has important implications for the conservation of drylands under climate change; land management should seek to enhance plant productivity as a tool to offset the negative impact of climate change on SOC storage and on associated ecosystem services.Estación Experimental Agropecuaria BarilocheFil: Gaitan, Juan Jose. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Tecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Maestre, Fernando T. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología. Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica; EspañaFil: Bran, Donaldo Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Buono, Gustavo Gabriel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Chubut; ArgentinaFil: Dougill, Andrew J. University of Leeds. School of Earth and Environment; Reino UnidoFil: Garcia Martinez, Guillermo Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Esquel; ArgentinaFil: Ferrante, Daniela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; ArgentinaFil: Guuroh, Reginald Tang. CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana; GhanaFil: Linstadter, Anja. University of Cologne. Botanical Institute; AlemaniaFil: Massara Paletto, Virginia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Chubut; ArgentinaFil: Thomas, Andrew David. Aberystwyth University. Department of Geography and Earth Sciences; Reino UnidoFil: Oliva, Gabriel Esteban. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentin

Global ecosystem thresholds driven by aridity

Aridity, which is increasing worldwide because of climate change, affects the structure and functioning of dryland ecosystems. Whether aridification leads to gradual (versus abrupt) and systemic (versus specific) ecosystem changes is largely unknown. We investigated how 20 structural and functional ecosystem attributes respond to aridity in global drylands. Aridification led to systemic and abrupt changes in multiple ecosystem attributes. These changes occurred sequentially in three phases characterized by abrupt decays in plant productivity, soil fertility, and plant cover and richness at aridity values of 0.54, 0.7, and 0.8, respectively. More than 20% of the terrestrial surface will cross one or several of these thresholds by 2100, which calls for immediate actions to minimize the negative impacts of aridification on essential ecosystem services for the more than 2 billion people living in drylands.This research was supported by the European Research Council [ERC grant nos. 242658 (BIOCOM) and 647038 (BIODESERT) awarded to F.T.M.]. M.B. acknowledges support from a Juan de la Cierva Formación grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FJCI-2018-036520-I). F.T.M. acknowledges support from Generalitat Valenciana (CIDEGENT/2018/041), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the Synthesis Centre for Biodiversity Sciences (sDiv) of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). M.D.-B. acknowledges support from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions of the Horizon 2020 Framework Program H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 under REA grant no. 702057. S.S. was supported by the Spanish Government under a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2016- 20604). N.G. was supported by the AgreenSkills+ fellowship program, which has received funding from the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme under grant no. FP7-609398 (AgreenSkills+ contract). V.M. was supported by FRQNT-2017-NC-198009 and NSERC Discovery 2016-05716 grants from the government of Canada. H.S. was supported by a Juan de la Cierva Formación grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FJCI-2015-26782). A.L. and M.C.R. were supported by an ERC Advanced Grant (Gradual Change grant no. 694368) and by the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (grant no. RI 1815/16-1). Y.Z. was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. XDA19030500)

Análisis de la evolución del clima y los pastizales naturales en el noroeste de la provincia de Chubut, Argentina, durante el período 2000 - 2014 : identificación de variables asociadas a la disminución de las existencias ganaderas en la región

García Martínez, Guillermo Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Ciari, Georgina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Caruso, Cecilia Alejandra. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Opazo, Walter Javier. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Lloyd, C. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Gaitán, Juan José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos. Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.Irisarri, J. Gonzalo Nicola. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal. Cátedra de Forrajicultura. Buenos Aires, Argentina.59-69Una elevada proporción del territorio argentino corresponde a tierras secas y una tercera parte de éstas se hallan en la Patagonia. Esta región históricamente ha sufrido procesos de deterioro del pastizal. Generalmente, la degradación es atribuida al uso ganadero; sin embargo, el efecto del clima sobre estos sistemas ha sido poco analizado. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la evolución del clima y de los pastizales naturales, a través de la identificación de variables que permitan comprender los posibles cambios en las existencias ganaderas para el noroeste de la provincia de Chubut, en el período 2000 - 2014. Para ello se analizaron diferentes tipos de datos: climáticos, índice verde normalizado (NDVI), lecturas de monitores MARAS y existencias ganaderas. Los resultados indican incrementos de temperatura y tendencias negativas de la productividad y estructura del pastizal. Asimismo se observó una disminución de las existencias ganaderas. El incremento de las temperaturas podría estar relacionado con balances hídricos desfavorables, los cuales, combinados con el sobrepastoreo, pueden ser factores claves en los procesos de deterioro del pastizal. Resulta fundamental continuar con el monitoreo de las diferentes variables que caracterizan a estos sistemas y diseñar estrategias que permitan mitigar los procesos descriptos

Análisis de la evolución del clima y los pastizales naturales en el noroeste de la provincia de Chubut, Argentina, durante el período 2000 - 2014 : identificación de variables asociadas a la disminución de las existencias ganaderas en la región

García Martínez, Guillermo Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Ciari, Georgina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Caruso, Cecilia Alejandra. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Opazo, Walter Javier. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Lloyd, C. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel (EEA). Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.Gaitán, Juan José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos. Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.Irisarri, J. Gonzalo Nicola. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal. Cátedra de Forrajicultura. Buenos Aires, Argentina.59-69Una elevada proporción del territorio argentino corresponde a tierras secas y una tercera parte de éstas se hallan en la Patagonia. Esta región históricamente ha sufrido procesos de deterioro del pastizal. Generalmente, la degradación es atribuida al uso ganadero; sin embargo, el efecto del clima sobre estos sistemas ha sido poco analizado. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la evolución del clima y de los pastizales naturales, a través de la identificación de variables que permitan comprender los posibles cambios en las existencias ganaderas para el noroeste de la provincia de Chubut, en el período 2000 - 2014. Para ello se analizaron diferentes tipos de datos: climáticos, índice verde normalizado (NDVI), lecturas de monitores MARAS y existencias ganaderas. Los resultados indican incrementos de temperatura y tendencias negativas de la productividad y estructura del pastizal. Asimismo se observó una disminución de las existencias ganaderas. El incremento de las temperaturas podría estar relacionado con balances hídricos desfavorables, los cuales, combinados con el sobrepastoreo, pueden ser factores claves en los procesos de deterioro del pastizal. Resulta fundamental continuar con el monitoreo de las diferentes variables que caracterizan a estos sistemas y diseñar estrategias que permitan mitigar los procesos descriptos

The MARAS dataset, vegetation and soil characteristics of dryland rangelands across Patagonia

We present the MARAS (Environmental Monitoring of Arid and Semiarid Regions) dataset, which stores vegetation and soil data of 426 rangeland monitoring plots installed throughout Patagonia, a 624.500 km2 area of southern Argentina and Chile. Data for each monitoring plot includes basic climatic and landscape features, photographs, 500 point intercepts for vegetation cover, plant species list and biodiversity indexes, 50-m line-intercept transect for vegetation spatial pattern analysis, land function indexes drawn from 11 measures of soil surface characteristics and laboratory soil analysis (pH, conductivity, organic matter, N and texture). Monitoring plots were installed between 2007 and 2019, and are being reassessed at 5-year intervals (247 have been surveyed twice). The MARAS dataset provides a baseline from which to evaluate the impacts of climate change and changes in land use intensity in Patagonian ecosystems, which collectively constitute one of the world´s largest rangeland areas. This dataset will be of interest to scientists exploring key ecological questions such as biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships, plant-soil interactions and climatic controls on ecosystem structure and functioning.Setup of the network was funded by by the Project GEF Patagonia PNUD ARG 07/G35 (2008–2014) “Sustainable Management of Arid and Semiarid systems for desertification control in Patagonia” Argentina. Further funding was assigned by INTA Project Observatorios de Sustentabilidad Rural PNNAT-1128035, Fundación Argeninta Proyecto Observatorio de (2015–2016) and Ley 25.422 para la Recuperación de la Ganadería Ovina (2017–2019) of Argentina. Erwin Domínguez was funded by Ministerio de Agricultura through the “Sistemas de Praderas Estepáricas de Zonas Frías de Chile” Project 502093-70. Fernando T. Maestre acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC Grant agreements 242658 [BIOCOM] and 647038 [BIODESERT]) and by Generalitat Valenciana (BIOMORES project, CIDEGENT/2018/041)

Body image concerns and involvement in the type-D personality

Antecedentes: La preocupación por la imagen corporal se relaciona con el trastorno dismórfico corporal. La Personalidad Tipo-D (afecto negativo e inhibición social) repercute sobre la presencia/mantenimiento de enfermedades cardiovasculares. Aunque ambos constructos tienen que ver con el cuerpo y su funcionamiento, no se han hallado estudios acerca de cómo ambas afectan a la salud psicológica. Método. Participantes: 331 universitarios (81,9 % mujeres). Edad media de 21.52 años (DT 3,20). Diseño: transversal ex post facto, una medida, relaciones Anova/Ancova de los factores Personalidad Tipo-D (y componentes), preocupación dismórfica, y género. Instrumentos: Cuestionario de Personalidad Tipo-D (afecto negativo e inhibición social), Cuestionario de preocupaciones dismórficas (DCQ), y Cuestionario de Salud General (GHQ-28): somatización, ansiedad, disfunción social, y depresión. Resultados: Se obtienen relaciones significativas entre las preocupaciones dismórficas y la Personalidad Tipo-D, tanto globalmente como por factores. Se obtiene un patrón diferenciado para estos criterios en función del género. Los varones muestran una conexión de la Personalidad Tipo-D con la somatización, las preocupaciones dismórficas se relacionan con la ansiedad, sin interacción significativa con el género. Conclusiones: La identificación temprana de la Personalidad Tipo-D y las preocupaciones dismórficas pueden ser relevante para la salud física y psicológica por su repercusión sobre enfermedades cardiovasculares y el trastorno dismórfico corporal.Background: Concern about body image is related to body dysmorphic disorder. The Type-D Personality (negative affect and social inhibition) impacts on the presence/maintenance of cardiovascular diseases. Although both constructs have to do with the body and its functioning, no studies were found about how these variables affect to psychological health. Method. Participants: 331 students (81.9% women). Average age: 21.52 years (SD 3.20). Design: crosssectional, ex-post-facto, a measure with Anova/Ancova relations, and three factors: Type-D personality (and components), dysmorphic concern, and gender. Instruments: Type-D Personality Questionnaire (negative affect and social inhibition), dysmorphic concern questionnaire (DCQ), and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28): somatization, anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression. Results: Significant relationships were obtained between dysmorphic concerns and Type-D personality, both overall scores and factors ones. Differentiated pattern is obtained for these criteria with gender. Males show a connection of Type-D personality with somatization, dysmorphic concerns relate to the anxiety, without significant interaction with gender. Conclusions: Early identification of Type-D personality and dysmorphic concerns may be relevant to the physical and psychological health because of their impact on cardiovascular disease and body dysmorphic disorder

Soil fungal abundance and plant functional traits drive fertile island formation in global drylands

International audience1.Dryland vegetation is characterised by discrete plant patches that accumulate and capture soil resources under their canopies. These “fertile islands” are major drivers of dryland ecosystem structure and functioning, yet we lack an integrated understanding of the factors controlling their magnitude and variability at the global scale.2.We conducted a standardized field survey across two hundred and thirty-six drylands from five continents. At each site, we measured the composition, diversity and cover of perennial plants. Fertile island effects were estimated at each site by comparing composite soil samples obtained under the canopy of the dominant plants and in open areas devoid of perennial vegetation. For each sample, we measured fifteen soil variables (functions) associated with carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling and used the Relative Interaction Index to quantify the magnitude of the fertile island effect for each function. In eighty sites, we also measured fungal and bacterial abundance (quantitative PCR) and diversity (Illumina MiSeq).3.The most fertile islands, i.e. those where a higher number of functions were simultaneously enhanced, were found at lower-elevation sites with greater soil pH values and sand content under semiarid climates, particularly at locations where the presence of tall woody species with a low specific leaf area increased fungal abundance beneath plant canopies, the main direct biotic controller of the fertile island effect in the drylands studied. Positive effects of fungal abundance were particularly associated with greater nutrient contents and microbial activity (soil extracellular enzymes) under plant canopies.4.Synthesis. Our results show that the formation of fertile islands in global drylands largely depends on: (i) local climatic, topographic and edaphic characteristics, (ii) the structure and traits of local plant communities and (iii) soil microbial communities. Our study also has broad implications for the management and restoration of dryland ecosystems worldwide, where woody plants are commonly used as nurse plants to enhance the establishment and survival of beneficiary species. Finally, our results suggest that forecasted increases in aridity may enhance the formation of fertile islands in drylands worldwide

Surface indicators are correlated with soil multifunctionality in global drylands

Multiple ecosystem functions need to be considered simultaneously to manage and protect the several ecosystem services that are essential to people and their environments. Despite this, cost effective, tangible, relatively simple and globally relevant methodologies to monitor in situ soil multifunctionality, that is, the provision of multiple ecosystem functions by soils, have not been tested at the global scale. We combined correlation analysis and structural equation modelling to explore whether we could find easily measured, field-based indicators of soil multifunctionality (measured using functions linked to the cycling and storage of soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus). To do this, we gathered soil data from 120 dryland ecosystems from five continents. Two soil surface attributes measured in situ (litter incorporation and surface aggregate stability) were the most strongly associated with soil multifunctionality, even after accounting for geographic location and other drivers such as climate, woody cover, soil pH and soil electric conductivity. The positive relationships between surface stability and litter incorporation on soil multifunctionality were greater beneath the canopy of perennial vegetation than in adjacent, open areas devoid of vascular plants. The positive associations between surface aggregate stability and soil functions increased with increasing mean annual temperature. Synthesis and applications. Our findings demonstrate that a reduced suite of easily measured in situ soil surface attributes can be used as potential indicators of soil multifunctionality in drylands world-wide. These attributes, which relate to plant litter (origin, incorporation, cover), and surface stability, are relatively cheap and easy to assess with minimal training, allowing operators to sample many sites across widely varying climatic areas and soil types. The correlations of these variables are comparable to the influence of climate or soil, and would allow cost-effective monitoring of soil multifunctionality under changing land-use and environmental conditions. This would provide important information for evaluating the ecological impacts of land degradation, desertification and climate change in drylands world-wide.Fil: Eldridge, David J.. University of New South Wales; AustraliaFil: Delgado Baquerizo, Manuel. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; EspañaFil: Quero, José L.. Universidad de Córdoba; EspañaFil: Ochoa, Victoria. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; España. Universidad de Alicante; EspañaFil: Gozalo, Beatriz. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; España. Universidad de Alicante; EspañaFil: García Palacios, Pablo. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; EspañaFil: Escolar, Cristina. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; EspañaFil: García Gómez, Miguel. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; EspañaFil: Prina, Aníbal. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Bowker, Mathew A.. Northern Arizona University; Estados UnidosFil: Bran, Donaldo Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Norte. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Carlos de Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Castro, Ignacio. Universidad Experimental Simón Rodríguez; VenezuelaFil: Cea, Alex. Universidad de La Serena; ChileFil: Derak, Mchich. No especifíca;Fil: Espinosa, Carlos I.. Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja; EcuadorFil: Florentino, Adriana. Universidad Central de Venezuela; VenezuelaFil: Gaitán, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Suelos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Tecnología; ArgentinaFil: Gatica, Mario Gabriel. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; ArgentinaFil: Gómez González, Susana. Universidad de Cádiz; EspañaFil: Ghiloufi, Wahida. Université de Sfax; TúnezFil: Gutierrez, Julio R.. Universidad de La Serena; ChileFil: Guzman, Elizabeth. Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja; EcuadorFil: Hernández, Rosa M.. Universidad Experimental Simón Rodríguez; VenezuelaFil: Hughes, Frederic M.. Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana; BrasilFil: Muiño, Walter. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Monerris, Jorge. No especifíca;Fil: Ospina, Abelardo. Universidad Central de Venezuela; VenezuelaFil: Ramírez, David A.. International Potato Centre; PerúFil: Ribas Fernandez, Yanina Antonia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; ArgentinaFil: Romão, Roberto L.. Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana; BrasilFil: Torres Díaz, Cristian. Universidad del Bio Bio; ChileFil: Koen, Terrance B.. No especifíca;Fil: Maestre, Fernando T.. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; España. Universidad de Alicante; Españ

The global contribution of soil mosses to ecosystem services

Soil mosses are among the most widely distributed organisms on land. Experiments and observations suggest that they contribute to terrestrial soil biodiversity and function, yet their ecological contribution to soil has never been assessed globally under natural conditions. Here we conducted the most comprehensive global standardized field study to quantify how soil mosses influence 8 ecosystem services associated with 24 soil biodiversity and functional attributes across wide environmental gradients from all continents. We found that soil mosses are associated with greater carbon sequestration, pool sizes for key nutrients and organic matter decomposition rates but a lower proportion of soil-borne plant pathogens than unvegetated soils. Mosses are especially important for supporting multiple ecosystem services where vascular-plant cover is low. Globally, soil mosses potentially support 6.43 Gt more carbon in the soil layer than do bare soils. The amount of soil carbon associated with mosses is up to six times the annual global carbon emissions from any altered land use globally. The largest positive contribution of mosses to soils occurs under a high cover of mat and turf mosses, in less-productive ecosystems and on sandy and salty soils. Our results highlight the contribution of mosses to soil life and functions and the need to conserve these important organisms to support healthy soils.The study work associated with this paper was funded by a Large Research Grant from the British Ecological Society (no. LRB17\1019; MUSGONET). D.J.E. is supported by the Hermon Slade Foundation. M.D.-B. was supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2018-025483-I), a project from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the I + D + i (PID2020-115813RA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033a) and a project PAIDI 2020 from the Junta de Andalucía (P20_00879). E.G. is supported by the European Research Council grant agreement 647038 (BIODESERT). M.B. is supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant from Spanish Ministry of Science (RYC2021-031797-I). A.d.l.R is supported by the AEI project PID2019-105469RB-C22. L.W. and Jianyong Wang are supported by the Program for Introducing Talents to Universities (B16011) and the Ministry of Education Innovation Team Development Plan (2013-373). The contributions of T.G. and T.U.N. were supported by the Research Program in Forest Biology, Ecology and Technology (P4-0107) and the research projects J4-3098 and J4-4547 of the Slovenian Research Agency. The contribution of P.B.R. was supported by the NSF Biological Integration Institutes grant DBI-2021898. J. Durán and A. Rodríguez acknowledge support from the FCT (2020.03670.CEECIND and SFRH/BDP/108913/2015, respectively), as well as from the MCTES, FSE, UE and the CFE (UIDB/04004/2021) research unit financed by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC)