Global Patterns of Ecosystem Multifunctionality Resistance under Global Change

Earth's ecosystems are increasingly endangered by global changes, impairing their ability to simultaneously deliver multiple functions, a concept known as ecosystem multifunctionality. However, the relative impacts of different global change factors on multifunctionality and how its resistance responds to interacting factors remain unclear. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis using data from 140 studies to assess the worldwide effects of global changes on multifunctionality. Our results demonstrated that biodiversity change exerts the strongest influence on ecosystem multifunctionality among major factors, including species invasion, nutrient enrichment, climate change, chemical pollution, and grazing. In two-factor experiments, the net effects of factor pairs were most frequently additive (55.5%), followed by antagonistic (32.9%) and synergistic (11.6%) effects. Moreover, multifunctionality resistance declined significantly as the number of factors increased. Notably, focusing solely on single compartments (e.g., soil) may underestimate resistance due to trade-offs among functions caused by decoupled responses of plants and soil biota. Furthermore, multifunctionality resistance increased significantly with latitude while decreasing consistently with experimental duration. This demonstrates that subtropical regions are more sensitive to global changes and that resistance is subject to the cumulative erosive effects of prolonged stress exposure. By quantifying the spatiotemporal patterns of multifunctionality resistance under global change, this study advances our understanding of ecosystem stability and provides critical insights into predicting and managing ecosystem responses to future environmental changes.