South American dry forests, from the Argentine Dry Chaco to Chile’s Mediterranean landscapes, are facing intense pressure from climate change, land-use shifts, and fire. This project, led by Axel Gualdoni-Becerra (University of Göttingen), establishes the South American Dryland Resilience Forum. Together with Dr. Sebastián Torrella (University of Buenos Aires, Argentina), Dr. Dylan Craven (Mayor University, Chile), and Dr. Rodrigo San Martín (Paris-Saclay University, France), we link functional traits with biomass structure and fire exposure.

The mission focuses on aligning research protocols on plant functional traits and creating open-access data pipelines. The network aims to uncover how these unique ecosystems resist environmental stress. This collaboration advances management and biodiversity conservation while strengthening international ties for FAIR data sharing and landscape resilience science.