An international study recently published in Nature Communications and led by Marcos Fernández-Martínez, an ERC researcher at CREAF, has analyzed data from 57 ecosystems around the world and reveals that over the last two decades the functioning of forests, savannas and grasslands has become more complex. This means that key processes such as photosynthesis or respiration may have become more sensitive to the combination of environmental conditions: soil moisture, species diversity, wind, temperature or available nutrients. The fact that an ecosystem functions in a more or less complex way could influence its ability to withstand disturbances caused by global change , such as heat waves and droughts, and also to store carbon.
This temporal complexity has been observed in individual organs, such as the human brain, and in animal populations such as insects, which respond to many variables over time. However, this is the first time we have calculated temporal complexity at the scale of entire ecosystems, so until now we did not have empirical data.
"This temporal complexity has already been observed in individual organs, such as the human brain, and in animal populations such as insects, which respond to many variables over time. However, this is the first time that we have calculated temporal complexity at the scale of entire ecosystems, for which we did not have empirical data until now", highlights Marcos Fernández-Martínez . According to the researcher, it seems that this 'increase in complexity' could be beneficial in making ecosystems more resilient to the impacts of climate change, "although it also makes the response to disturbances more difficult to predict".
Most productive ecosystems, among the most complex
The study also points out that the most productive ecosystems—those that perform more photosynthesis—and with more biomass—that is, with a lot of vegetation—are the ones that tend to present more complex dynamics, regardless of the type of ecosystem (forests, scrublands or grasslands). On the other hand, less productive ecosystems, such as tundras or semi-arid areas, show more predictable responses.
In addition, they have also observed that ecosystems with greater biodiversity have a more complex functioning, because each species presents a different response to environmental changes such as temperature, humidity, wind or nutrients. This enriches the overall response of the ecosystem and makes it more resilient, "when one species stops growing because conditions are not conducive to it, another can take over".
"In general, the results make us think that complexity can be beneficial for the proper functioning of ecosystems and that it can help them adapt to environmental changes , although we still do not fully understand the mechanisms that explain this. Nor do we have enough data to say whether certain regions of the planet are becoming more complex than others: more global studies are needed to answer this question," concludes Fernández-Martínez.
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To carry out the study, the team used the international FLUXNET network, which continuously measures the exchanges of carbon dioxide and energy between vegetation and the atmosphere.
The study was led by CREAF, also signed by Josep Peñuelas, CSIC researcher at CREAF, and has had the participation of authors from several international entities: the University of Antwerp (Belgium), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, Austria), the University of Oxford (United Kingdom) and the University of Bergen (Norway).
Reference article : Fernández-Martínez, M., Janssens, IA, Obersteiner, M., Manning, P., Andrade, FM, Rodríguez-Penedo, E., & Peñuelas, J. (2025). Temporal complexity of terrestrial ecosystem functioning and its drivers. Nature Communications, 16, 7725. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63246-z
