Climate change and desert ecosystem resilience: A systematic review of impacts, adaptation strategies, and sustainability pathways

Authors

• Ghada Abd Elsattar Mohammed Oraby, Al-Azhar University, EgyptFollow
• Garmat Zahra, Sultan Qaboos University, OmanFollow

Abstract

Desert ecosystems are among the most climate-sensitive environments on Earth, where rising temperatures, altered precipitation regimes, and increasing aridity threaten ecosystem stability, biodiversity, and ecological functioning. Despite covering more than one-third of the global land surface, a comprehensive understanding of how climate change affects desert ecosystem resilience and the effectiveness of adaptation strategies remains limited. This study conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA framework to evaluate the impacts of climate change on desert ecosystem resilience and to identify effective adaptation and restoration pathways. A total of 16 high-quality studies were selected from 403 records retrieved from the Scopus database. The findings reveal that interacting climate stressors, including warming, drought, and precipitation variability, accelerate biodiversity loss, alter species composition, disrupt ecological interactions, degrade biological soil crusts, and increase the risk of ecosystem degradation and ecological tipping points. The review further highlights that resilience can be enhanced through integrated adaptation measures, including ecological restoration, climate-informed restoration planning, biodiversity conservation, sustainable water management, soil stabilization, and the promotion of drought-tolerant ecological networks. Effective resilience-building requires coordinated ecological, hydrological, and socio-economic approaches rather than isolated interventions. This review contributes to a broader understanding of climate-change impacts on desert ecosystems by synthesizing evidence across multiple ecological dimensions and identifying key pathways for sustainable adaptation and long-term ecosystem resilience. Future research should focus on ecological thresholds, nonlinear ecosystem responses, large-scale restoration effectiveness, and the integration of traditional ecological knowledge into climate-adaptive management frameworks.

First Page

65

Last Page

76

Recommended Citation

Oraby, G., & Zahra, G. (2026). Climate change and desert ecosystem resilience: A systematic review of impacts, adaptation strategies, and sustainability pathways. Jurnal Pendidikan Geografi: Kajian, Teori, dan Praktek dalam Bidang Pendidikan dan Ilmu Geografi, 31(2), 65-76.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17977/2527-628X.1330
Available at: https://citeus.um.ac.id/jpg/vol31/iss2/1