Grazing represents the most extensive use of land worldwide. Yet its impacts on ecosystem services remain uncertain because pervasive interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil properties, and biodiversity may occur but have never been addressed simultaneously. Using a standardized survey at 98 sites across six continents, we show that interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil, and biodiversity are critical to explain the delivery of fundamental ecosystem services across drylands worldwide. Increasing grazing pressure reduced ecosystem service delivery in warmer and species-poor drylands, whereas positive effects of grazing were observed in colder and species-rich areas. Considering interactions between grazing and local abiotic and biotic factors is key for understanding the fate of dryland ecosystems under climate change and increasing human pressure.

Aix Marseille Univ CNRS Avignon Université IRD IMBE Aix en Provence France

Al Quds University Abu Dis Palestine

Berlin Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research Berlin Germany

Biodiversity Research Systematic Botany Group Institute of Biochemistry and Biology University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany

Botany Department State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart Stuttgart Germany

Cátedra de Ecología Facultad de Agronomía Universidad de Buenos Aires Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires Argentina

Cátedra de Manejo de Pastizales Naturales Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias Universidad Nacional de Catamarca Catamarca Argentina

Center for Ecosystem Science and Society Northern Arizona University Flagstaff AZ USA

Centre for Ecology Evolution and Environmental Changes Faculdade de Ciências Universidade de Lisboa Lisboa Portugal

Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia

Centre for Functional Ecology Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra Coimbra Portugal

Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica Quito Ecuador

Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de Argentina Buenos Aires Argentina

Dead Sea and Arava Science Center Yotvata Israel

Deparment of Biology McGill University Montreal Quebec Canada

Departamento de Biodiversidad Ecología y Evolución Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas Universidad Complutense de Madrid Madrid Spain

Departamento de Biología Animal Biología Vegetal y Ecología Universidad de Jaén Jaén Spain

Departamento de Biología Escuela Politécnica Nacional Quito Ecuador

Departamento de Biología y Geología Física y Química Inorgánica Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Móstoles Spain

Departamento de Botânica e Ecologia Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso Mato Grosso Brazil

Departamento de Botânica Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Minas Gerais Brazil

Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y Medio Natural Escuela Politécnica Superior Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón Universidad de Zaragoza Huesca Spain

Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja Loja Ecuador

Departamento de Ecología Universidad de Alicante Alicante Spain

Departamento de Ingeniería y Morfología del Terreno Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos Canales y Puertos Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Madrid Spain

Department of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Faculty of Sciences Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid Spain

Department of Biochemistry Genetics and Microbiology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa

Department of Biological Sciences University of Texas at El Paso El Paso TX USA

Department of Disturbance Ecology Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research BayCEER University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany

Department of Earth Sciences Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis Indianapolis IN USA

Department of Environment and Geography University of York York UK

Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management University of California Berkeley Berkeley CA USA

Department of Environmental Systems Science ETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland

Department of Forest Engineering Forest Management Planning and Terrestrial Measurements Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering Transilvania University of Brasov Brasov Romania

Department of Geography and Earth Sciences Aberystwyth University Wales UK

Department of Natural Resource Science Thompson Rivers University Kamloops British Columbia Canada

Department of Natural Resources Agricultural Research Organization Institute of Plant Sciences Gilat Research Center Mobile Post Negev Israel

Department of Planning and Environment c o Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa

Department of Range and Watershed Management Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Mashhad Iran

Department of Range Management Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences Tarbiat Modares University Noor Mazandaran Province Iran

Desert Ecology Research Group School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia

Earth Research Institute University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA

Ecological Plant Geography Faculty of Geography University of Marburg Marburg Germany

Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences The University of Melbourne Melbourne Victoria Australia

Forestry School INDEHESA Universidad de Extremadura Plasencia Spain

Freie Universität Berlin Institute of Biology Berlin Germany

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle Jena Leipzig Leipzig Germany

Global Centre for Land Based Innovation Western Sydney University Sydney New South Wales Australia

Global Drylands Center Arizona State University Tempe AZ USA

Gobabeb Namib Research Institute Walvis Bay Namibia

Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment Western Sydney University Sydney New South Wales Australia

Institut d'Écologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris Sorbonne Université IRD CNRS INRAE Université Paris Est Creteil Université de Paris Centre IRD de France Nord Bondy France

Institut de Biología Evolutiva Barcelona Spain

Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg Halle Germany

Institute of Botany Czech Academy of Sciences Pruhonice Czech Republic

Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation University of Bonn Bonn Germany

Institute of Landscape Ecology University of Münster Münster Germany

Institute of Plant Sciences University of Bern Bern Switzerland

Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources Yangling Shaanxi China

Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Northwest A and F University Yangling Shaanxi China

Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid Spain

Instituto de Investigación Interdisciplinaria Vicerrectoría Académica Universidad de Talca Talca Chile

Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación del Sistema Tierra en Andalucía Universidad de Jaén Jaén Spain

Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio Ramón Margalef Universidad de Alicante Alicante Spain

Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica Espírito Santo Brazil

Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria EEA Santa Cruz Río Gallegos Santa Cruz Argentina

Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche Bariloche Río Negro Argentina

Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca Catamarca Argentina

Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria Instituto de Suelos CNIA Buenos Aires Argentina

Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología Zaragoza Spain

Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica A C San Luis Potosí Mexico

Key Laboratory for Humid Subtropical Eco geographical Processes of the Ministry of Education School of Geographical Science Fujian Normal University Fuzhou China

Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station Institute of Grassland Science Northeast Normal University Changchun China

Laboratoire de Recherche Biodiversité Biotechnologie Environnement et Développement Durable Faculté des Sciences Université M'hamed Bougara de Boumerdès Boumerdès Algérie

Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla CSIC Sevilla Spain

Laboratory of Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis Department of Biology School of Arts and Sciences National University of Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Laboratory of Range Ecology Institut des Régions Arides Médenine Tunisia

Leipzig University Institute of Biology Leipzig Germany

Lendület Seed Ecology Research Group Institute of Ecology and Botany Centre for Ecological Research Vácrátót Hungary

Misión Biolóxica de Galicia CSIC Pontevedra Spain

Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid Spain

Normandie Univ UNIROUEN INRAE ECODIV Rouen France

Plant Ecology Group University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany

School of Agriculture Environmental and Veterinary Sciences Charles Sturt University Port Macquarie New South Wales Australia

School of Earth and Space Exploration Arizona State University Tempe AZ USA

School of Forestry Northern Arizona University Flagstaff AZ USA

School of Life Sciences Arizona State University Tempe AZ USA

School of Sustainability Arizona State University Tempe AZ USA

Science Division Department of Planning Industry and Environment New South Wales Government Buronga New South Wales Australia

South African Environmental Observation Network Phalaborwa Kruger National Park South Africa

State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography Chinese Academy of Sciences Urumqi China

State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology Research Center for Eco Environmental Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China

Unidad Asociada CSIC UPO Universidad Pablo de Olavide Sevilla Spain

Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias Carrera de Ingeniería Agronómica Grupo de Agroforestería Manejo y Conservación del paisaje Cuenca Ecuador

Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral Río Gallegos Santa Cruz Argentina

Universidad Nacional de Luján Departamento de Tecnología Luján Argentina

Universidad Nacional de Río Negro Sede Atlántica CEANPa Río Negro Argentina

Universidad Nacional Experimental Simón Rodríguez Miranda Venezuela

Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana Departamento de Ciências Biológicas Bahia Brazil

Université Clermont Auvergne INRAE VetAgro Sup Unité Mixte de Recherche Ecosystème Prairial Clermont Ferrand France

University of Potsdam Plant Ecology and Conservation Biology Potsdam Germany

US Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center Flagstaff AZ USA

US Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center Moab UT USA

Zoology Department National Museums of Kenya Nairobi Kenya

Comment In

Science. 2022 Nov 25;378(6622):834. doi: 10.1126/science.add4278. PubMed

References provided by Crossref.org

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10.6084/m9.figshare.14923065, 10.6084/m9.figshare.20131355