BACKGROUND In the Anthropocene, there is a need to better understand the catastrophic
effects that climate and land-use change may have on ecosystems, Earth system …

Potential climate tip** points pose a growing risk for societies, and policy is calling for
improved anticipation of them. Satellite remote sensing can play a unique role in identifying …

Self-organized spatial patterns are a common feature of complex systems, ranging from
microbial communities to mussel beds and drylands. While the theoretical implications of …

In the face of global biodiversity declines, predicting the fate of biological systems is a key
goal in ecology. One popular approach is the search for early warning signals (EWS s) …

Social-ecological system (SES) resilience involves the large information and complex
relationships of nature, society and economy. To promote multi-disciplinary integration to …

Abstract Systems theory and complex science, especially knowledge of social–ecological
interdependencies, are urgently needed in planning and decision-making on sustainable …

In semiarid regions, vegetated ecosystems can display abrupt and unexpected changes, ie,
transitions to different states, due to drifting or time-varying parameters, with severe …

Understanding ecosystem dynamics and predicting directional changes in ecosystem in
response to global changes are ongoing challenges in ecology. Here we present a …

We are in a climate and ecological emergency, where climate change and direct
anthropogenic interference with the biosphere are risking abrupt and/or irreversible changes …

Anthropogenic activities and climate change are imposing an unprecedented pressure on
drylands, increasing their vulnerability to desertification. The spatial organization of the …