Responses and feedbacks of African dryland ecosystems to environmental changes

Fangli Wei, Shuai Wang, Martin Brandt, Bojie Fu, Michael E. Meadows, Lixin Wang, Lanhui Wang, Xiaowei Tong, Rasmus Fensholt

    Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

    23 Citations (Scopus)
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    Abstract

    Drylands occupy 43% of the African continent and play an important role in the global carbon cycle and in supporting local livelihoods. Understanding how dryland ecosystems respond to environmental changes, both structurally and functionally, is of great significance for sustainable dryland management. In this article, we review the current remote sensing-based knowledge on African dryland ecosystem dynamics and the main drivers of changes. Global CO2 enrichment, changes in rainfall regimes, and a decline in fire activity have collectively driven vegetation greening, woody plant increase and carbon dynamics in African drylands over recent decades, challenging the long-held desertification narrative. Here we also highlight the importance of rainfall–vegetation–fire feedbacks in enhancing dryland ecosystem resilience and predicting future ecosystem responses.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalCurrent Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
    Volume48
    Pages (from-to)29-35
    Number of pages7
    ISSN1877-3435
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 2021

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