Soil fungal abundance and plant functional traits drive fertile island formation in global drylands
Ochoa-Hueso R. Eldridge D.J., Delgado‐Baquerizo M., Soliveres S., Bowker M.A., Gross N., Le Bagousse‐Pinguet Y., Quero J.L., García‐Gómez M., Valencia E., Arredondo T., Beinticinco L., Bran D., Cea A., Coaguila D., Dougill A.J., Espinosa CI., Gaitán J., Guuroh RT., Guzman E, Gutiérrez JR., Hernández RM., Huber‐Sannwald E., Jeffries T., Linstädter A., Mau RL., Monerris J., Prina A., Pucheta E., Stavi I., Thomas AD., Zaady E., Singh B.K., Maestre F.T.
PDFFertile islands are major drivers of dryland ecosystem structure and functioning. Here we showed that the formation of fertile islands in global drylands largely depends on (i) the structure and traits of local plant communities and (ii) soil microbial communities. Our results also suggested that forecasted increases in aridity may enhance the formation of fertile islands in drylands worldwide.