Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, Unité Mixte de Recherche Ecosystème Prairial, Clermont-Ferrand, France
Nicolas Gross, Raphaël Martin & Franck Jabot
Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fernando T. Maestre
Botany Department, State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Pierre Liancourt
Plant Ecology Group, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Pierre Liancourt, Liesbeth van den Brink, Rafaella Canessa, Jan C. Ruppert & Katja Tielbörger
Departamento de Biodiversidad, EcologÃa y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Miguel Berdugo, Enrique Valencia, Juan G. Rubalcaba & Alberto L. Teixido
Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Miguel Berdugo
Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio âRamon Margalefâ, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
Beatriz Gozalo, Victoria Ochoa, Santiago Soliveres, Emilio Guirado, Sergio Asensio, Jaime MartÃnez-Valderrama & Ivan Santaolaria Pijuan
Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico. Instituto de Recursos Naturales y AgrobiologÃa de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
Département des Sciences de lâEnvironnement, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois Rivières, Quebec, Canada
Vincent Maire
Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Huesca, Spain
Hugo Saiz
Departamento de EcologÃa, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
Santiago Soliveres
Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
David J. Eldridge
Instituto Nacional de TecnologÃa Agropecuaria (INTA), Instituto de Suelos-CNIA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Juan J. Gaitán
Departamento de TecnologÃa, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Luján, Argentina
Juan J. Gaitán
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas de Argentina (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Juan J. Gaitán & Guadalupe Peter
Departamento de IngenierÃa y MorfologÃa del Terreno, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Miguel GarcÃa-Gómez
Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas, Madrid, Spain
Paloma MartÃnez & César Plaza
Departamento de BiologÃa y GeologÃa, FÃsica y QuÃmica Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
Betty J. Mendoza & David S. Pescador
Department of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Eduardo Moreno-Jiménez
Departamento de FarmacologÃa, Farmacognosia y Botánica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
David S. Pescador
Department of Range Management, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran
Mehdi Abedi & Khadijeh Bahalkeh
Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca, Instituto Nacional de TecnologÃa Agropecuaria, Catamarca, Argentina
Rodrigo J. Ahumada & R. Emiliano Quiroga
Laboratoire de Recherche: Biodiversité, Biotechnologie, Environnement et Développement Durable (BioDev), Faculté des Sciences, Université Mâhamed Bougara de Boumerdès, Boumerdès, Algérie
Fateh Amghar
Instituto Pirenaico de EcologÃa (IPE CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain
Antonio I. Arroyo & Yolanda Pueyo
Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
Lydia Bailey & Matthew A. Bowker
Laboratory of Pastoral Ecosystems and Promotion of Spontaneous Plants and Associated Micro-Organisms, Institut des Régions Arides (IRA) Médenine, University of Gabes, Zrig Eddakhlania, Tunisia
Farah Ben Salem
Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Niels Blaum & Florian Jeltsch
Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Bazartseren Boldgiv & Sainbileg Undrakhbold
School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
Matthew A. Bowker
cE3c â Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and CHANGE â Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Cristina Branquinho & Alice Nunes
ECOBIOSIS, Departmento of Botánica, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Liesbeth van den Brink
Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
Chongfeng Bu & Mengchen Ju
Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, China
Chongfeng Bu & Mengchen Ju
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Rafaella Canessa
Institut für Biologie, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
Rafaella Canessa
Departamento de BiologÃa, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
Andrea del P. Castillo-Monroy & David A. Donoso
Department of Life Sciences, Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Helena Castro
Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Carrera de IngenierÃa Agronómica, Grupo de AgroforesterÃa, Manejo y Conservación del Paisaje, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador
Patricio Castro & Oswaldo Jadan
Laboratory of Eremology and Combating Desertification, Institut des Régions Arides (IRA) Médenine, University of Gabes, Zrig Eddakhlania, Tunisia
Roukaya Chibani
Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, Brasil
Abel Augusto Conceição & Frederic Mendes Hughes
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi
Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Yvonne C. Davila
Lendület Seed Ecology Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary
Balázs Deák & Orsolya Valkó
Misión Biolóxica de Galicia, CSIC, Pontevedra, Spain
Jorge Durán & Alexandra RodrÃguez
Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
Carlos Espinosa & Elizabeth Gusman-Montalvan
Instituto de Investigación Interdisciplinaria (I3), Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile
Alex Fajardo & Juan P. Mora
Instituto de EcologÃa y Biodiversidad (IEB), Santiago, Chile
Alex Fajardo
Limits of Life (LiLi), Instituto Milenio, Valdivia, Chile
Alex Fajardo
Department of Range and Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
Mohammad Farzam
Instituto Nacional de TecnologÃa Agropecuaria EEA Santa Cruz, RÃo Gallegos, Argentina
Daniela Ferrante & Gabriel Oliva
Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral, RÃo Gallegos, Argentina
Daniela Ferrante & Gabriel Oliva
Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y TécnicasâUniversidad Nacional del Comahue, Neuquen, Argentina
Jorgelina Franzese & SofÃa Gonzalez
Department of Natural Resource Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Lauchlan Fraser & Colton Stephens
Instituto de Estudios CientÃficos y Tecnológicos (IDECYT); Centro de Estudios de AgroecologÃa Tropical (CEDAT), Universidad Nacional Experimental Simón RodrÃguez (UNESR), Miranda, Venezuela
Rosa Mary Hernández-Hernández
Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
Norbert Hölzel & Frederike Velbert
Instituto Potosino de Investigación CientÃfica y Tecnológica, San Luis PotosÃ, México
Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald
Department of Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
Anke Jentsch & Peter Wolff
Earth Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Kudzai F. Kaseke
Biodiversity Research, Systematic Botany Group, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Liana Kindermann & Anja Linstädter
Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Peter le Roux & Michelle A. Louw
Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Anja Linstädter
Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, DSI/NRF SARChI in Marine Microbiomics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Mancha Mabaso
Gobabeb, Namib Research Institute, Walvis Bay, Namibia
Gillian Maggs-Kölling & Eugene Marais
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Thulani P. Makhalanyane
Institut dâÃcologie et des Sciences de lâEnvironnement de Paris (iEES-Paris), Sorbonne Université, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, Université Paris Est Creteil, Université de Paris, Centre IRD de France Nord, Bondy, France
Oumarou Malam Issa
Departamento BiologÃa Animal, BiologÃa Vegetal y EcologÃa, Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, Spain
Antonio J. Manzaneda
Normandie Universite, UNIROUEN, INRAE, ECODIV, Rouen, France
Pierre Margerie
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia and Conselho de Curadores das Coleções CientÃficas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazil
Frederic Mendes Hughes
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioinformática, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Pampulha, Brazil
Frederic Mendes Hughes
Biology Department and Ecology Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
João Vitor S. Messeder
Forestry School, INDEHESA, Universidad de Extremadura, Plasencia, Spain
Gerardo Moreno & Victor Rolo
Southwest Biological Science Center, US Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
Seth M. Munson
Cátedra de EcologÃa, Facultad de AgronomÃa Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA-CONICET), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Gaston R. Oñatibia & Laura Yahdjian
CEANPa, Universidad Nacional de RÃo Negro, Sede Atlántica, RÃo Negro, Argentina
Guadalupe Peter & Juan Manuel Zeberio
Cátedra de Manejo de Pastizales Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Catamarca, Catamarca, Argentina
R. Emiliano Quiroga
Universidad Estatal Amazónica (UEA), Puyo-Ecuador, Ecuador
Elizabeth RamÃrez-Iglesias
US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT, USA
Sasha C. Reed
Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación del Sistema Tierra de AndalucÃa, Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, Spain
Pedro J. Rey
Institute of Ecology, Environment and Sustainability Network, Chihuahua, Mexico
VÃctor M. Reyes Gómez
Global Drylands Center,School of Life Sciences and School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Osvaldo Sala
Al Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine
Ayman Salah
Mara Research Station, Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Polokwane, South Africa
Phokgedi Julius Sebei
Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Yotvata, Israel
Ilan Stavi
Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
Andrew D. Thomas
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Heather L. Throop
School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Heather L. Throop
Department of Planning and Environment, Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Samantha Travers & James Val
Zoology Department, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
Wanyoike Wamiti
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indiana University Indianapolis (IUI), Indianapolis, IN, USA
Lixin Wang
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
Deli Wang
Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Glenda M. Wardle
Forest and Rangeland Research Department, Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Mashhad, Iran
Reza Yari
Gilat Research Center, Department of Natural Resources, Institute of Plant Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
Eli Zaady
State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Yuanling Zhang & Xiaobing Zhou
Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Avignon Université, IRD, IMBE, Aix-en-Provence, France
Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet
N.G., F.T.M. and Y.L.B.-P. conceived this study. F.T.M., N.G. and Y.L.B.-P. designed and coordinated the global field survey. N.G., P.L. and Y.L.B.-P. developed the original idea of the analyses presented in the manuscript, with inputs from F.T.M., M.B., R.M., M.D.-B., V.M., E.M.-J., H.S., S.S. and E.V. F. Jabot. developed the theoretical model on plant cover. Fieldwork was done by all co-authors with the assistance of M.G.-G. for field site assessments. Laboratory analyses were done by V.O., B.G., S.A., C.P., M.G.-G. and I.S.P. The trait database was built by N.G., R.M. and Y.L.B.-P. Data and code handling, curation and verification were done by N.G., R.M., V.O., B.G., I.S.P. and Y.L.B.-P. Statistical analyses were performed by N.G., M.B., and R.M. N.G., Y.L.B.-P. and F.T.M. wrote the first manuscript draft and all authors worked on the final version.
