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Free keywords:
dryland ecosystems, ecosystem restoration, multidisciplinary, resilience, stakeholder engagement
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Abstract:
One of the most challenging issues in Mediterranean ecosystems to date has been
to understand the emergence of discontinuous changes or catastrophic shifts. In the
era of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which encompass ideas around Land
Degradation Neutrality, advancing this understanding has become even more critical
and urgent. The aim of this paper is to synthesize insights into the drivers, processes
and management of catastrophic shifts to highlight ways forward for the management of
Mediterranean ecosystems. We use a multidisciplinary approach that extends beyond
the typical single site, single scale, single approach studies in the current literature. We
link applied and theoretical ecology at multiple scales with analyses and modeling of human–environment–climate relations and stakeholder engagement in six field sites in
Mediterranean ecosystems to address three key questions:
i) How do major degradation drivers affect ecosystem functioning and services in
Mediterranean ecosystems?
ii) What processes happen in the soil and vegetation during a catastrophic shift?
iii) How can management of vulnerable ecosystems be optimized using these
findings?
Drawing together the findings from the use of different approaches allows us to address
the whole pipeline of changes from drivers through to action. We highlight ways to
assess ecosystem vulnerability that can help to prevent ecosystem shifts to undesirable
states; identify cost-effective management measures that align with the vision and plans
of land users; and evaluate the timing of these measures to enable optimization of their
application before thresholds are reached. Such a multidisciplinary approach enables
improved identification of early warning signals for discontinuous changes informing
more timely and cost-effective management, allowing anticipation of, adaptation to, or
even prevention of, undesirable catastrophic ecosystem shifts.
