Prevalence and drivers of abrupt vegetation shifts in global drylands

Drylands are home to 2.1 billion people, and harbor some of the world’s rarest biodiversity. Globally, they are also highly sensitive to ecological changes under global change. New research shows that 50% of the changes in dryland ecosystem dynamics are abrupt shifts, which are characteristic of tipping point responses in ecological states. The prevalence of these abrupt shifts highlights concerns about resilience loss in these vulnerable ecosystems. Read more in our new paper in PNAS.