Global change is expected to reduce the provision of multiple ecosystem services in drylands, the largest biome on Earth. Understanding the relative importance of climate change and overgrazing on ecosystems services is critical for predicting the effects of global change on ecosystem well‐being. We generated a system‐level understanding of the effects of climate (aridity intensity) and land use intensification (herbivore grazing intensity) on four regulating ecosystem services (C‐storage, N‐availability and P‐availability, and organic matter decomposition) and one provisioning service (plant production) in wooded drylands from eastern Australia. Climate change and grazing intensity had different effects on multiple ecosystem services. Increasing aridity from 0·19 (dry subhumid) to 0·63 (arid) had consistent suppressive effects on C‐storage, N‐availability, decomposition and plant biomass services, but not on P‐availability. The magnitude of these suppressive effects was greater than any effects due to grazing. All sites showed evidence of kangaroo grazing, but the heaviest grazing was due to cattle (dung: range 0–4545 kg ha⁻¹; mean 142 kg ha⁻¹). Any effects of grazing on ecosystem services were herbivore specific and ranged from positive to neutral or negative. Sheep, and to a lesser extent cattle, were associated with greater N‐availability. Rabbits, however, had a greater effect on P‐availability than aridity. Our study suggests that increases in livestock grazing may fail to sustain ecosystem services because of the generally stronger negative effect of increasing aridity on most ecosystem services in our model dryland. These services are likely therefore to decline with global increases in aridity. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Orchidaceae is a diverse, globally important plant family with high conservation assessment and prioritization requirements. The checklist of Orchidaceae in Mongolia was updated based on herbarium materials, literature, and field observations. Mongolian orchids were revised as comprising 26 taxa belonging to 14 genera with major updates were conducted on Herminium and Epipactis. In particular, H. alaschanicum, previously noted in the Alashan Gobi region, was added to the flora of Mongolia based on literature and type specimens. Epipactis helleborine and E. palustris were excluded from the Mongolian flora owing to the absence of herbarium specimens and wild collection from Mongolia. Assessment of all orchid species at the national level resulted in 1, 4, 7, 11, and 2 species as critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN), vulnerable (VU), near threatened (NT), and data deficient (DD), respectively, according to IUCN criteria. Species richness and conservation gap analyses of 970 georeferenced orchid records based on 0.5° × 0.5° grid cells across 16 phytogeographical regions of Mongolia, showed that four phytogeographical regions, Khangai, Khuvgul, Khentii and Mongolian Dauria, have a high number of orchids. Regrettably, most orchid-rich locations in Mongolia are not fully within protected areas, highlighting the need for protection management updates. Based on herbarium collections, we prepared grid distribution maps of the 26 taxa using 40 × 40 km² grids. Photographs of 18 taxa taken during fieldwork were included, providing valuable information on species morphology and typical habitat.

Wetlands are critical ecosystems for supporting biodiversity and regulating climate. Over the past century, it has been degraded significantly due to both climatic and human activities. In Mongolia, livestock grazing has drastic impact on this ecosystem. In this study, we seek to understand the effects of grazing on soil water content (SWC) and moisture by contrasting grazed and non-grazed area in a wetland in north-eastern Mongolia. We found that water infiltration was five times lower in grazed area than that of non-grazed area. Soil water content was higher and stable near soil surface (5 cm soil depth) throughout the growing season in grazed area, while it was lower and sensitive to rainfall events in non-grazed area. Also, soil moisture derived from electric resistivity measurement data supports our results of higher SWC in grazed area, relative to non-grazed area, suggesting that a reduction in infiltration is likely due to soil compaction associated with grazing activities.