Groundwater-dependent ecosystem map exposes global dryland protection needs

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dc.contributor.authorRohde, Melissa M.
dc.contributor.authorAlbano, Christine M.
dc.contributor.authorHuggins, Xander
dc.contributor.authorKlausmeyer, Kirk R.
dc.contributor.authorMorton, Charles
dc.contributor.authorSharman, Ali
dc.contributor.authorZaveri, Esha
dc.contributor.authorSaito, Laurel
dc.contributor.authorFreed, Zach
dc.contributor.authorHoward, Jeanette K.
dc.contributor.authorJob, Nancy
dc.contributor.authorRichter, Holly
dc.contributor.authorToderich, Kristina
dc.contributor.authorRodella, Aude-Sophie
dc.contributor.authorGleeson, Tom
dc.contributor.authorHuntington, Justin
dc.contributor.authorChandanpurkar, Hrishikesh A.
dc.contributor.authorPurdy, Adam J.
dc.contributor.authorFamiglietti, James S.
dc.contributor.authorSinger, Michael Bliss
dc.contributor.authorRoberts, Dar A.
dc.contributor.authorCaylor, Kelly
dc.contributor.authorStella, John C.
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-22T16:20:50Z
dc.date.available2025-09-22T16:20:50Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractGroundwater is the most ubiquitous source of liquid freshwater globally, yet its role in supporting diverse ecosystems is rarely acknowledged1,2. However, the location and extent of groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are unknown in many geographies, and protection measures are lacking1,3. Here, we map GDEs at high-resolution (roughly 30 m) and find them present on more than one-third of global drylands analysed, including important global biodiversity hotspots4. GDEs are more extensive and contiguous in landscapes dominated by pastoralism with lower rates of groundwater depletion, suggesting that many GDEs are likely to have already been lost due to water and land use practices. Nevertheless, 53% of GDEs exist within regions showing declining groundwater trends, which highlights the urgent need to protect GDEs from the threat of groundwater depletion. However, we found that only 21% of GDEs exist on protected lands or in jurisdictions with sustainable groundwater management policies, invoking a call to action to protect these vital ecosystems. Furthermore, we examine the linkage of GDEs with cultural and socio-economic factors in the Greater Sahel region, where GDEs play an essential role in supporting biodiversity and rural livelihoods, to explore other means for protection of GDEs in politically unstable regions. Our GDE map provides critical information for prioritizing and developing policies and protection mechanisms across various local, regional or international scales to safeguard these important ecosystems and the societies dependent on them.
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelFaculty
dc.description.sponsorshipAt the Nature Conservancy, we thank the Water Foundation and Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation for their financial support for this sustainable groundwater research. At the Desert Research Institute (DRI), we thank the Sulo and Aileen Maki Endowment Fund for financial support to DRI’s Division of Hydrologic Sciences and the US Geological Survey Landsat Science Team (grant no. 140G0118C0007). X.H. was supported by an Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada. K.T. thanks the Blue-SATREPS project (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development JST, grant no. JPMJSA2001) for financial support. Financial support for the SUNY-ESF and UCSB teams (J.C.S., M.B.S., D.A.R. and K.C.) was provided by the National Science Foundation (grant nos. BCS01660490, EAR-1700517 and EAR-1700555) and the US Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (grant no. RC18-1006).
dc.identifier.citationRohde, M. M., Albano, C. M., Huggins, X. Klausmeyer, K. R., Morton, C., Sharman, A., Zaveri, E., Saito, L., Freed, Z., Howard, J. K., Job, N., Richter, H., Toderich, K., Rodella, A., Gleeson, T., Huntington, H., Chandanpurkar, H. A., Purdy, A. J., Famiglietti, J. S., ... Stella, J. C. (2024). Groundwater-dependent ecosystem map exposes global dryland protection needs. Nature 632, 101–107. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07702-8
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07702-8
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/22785
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherNature
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectenvironmental impact
dc.subjectconservation biology
dc.subjecthydrology
dc.subjectwater resources
dc.subjectfreshwater ecology
dc.subject.departmentSchool of Earth and Ocean Sciences
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Civil Engineering
dc.titleGroundwater-dependent ecosystem map exposes global dryland protection needs
dc.typeArticle

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