Xu, Denghui , Li, Jiani , Xu, Caifang , Fan, Tongsheng , Wang, Yao , Xu, Zhonglin
2026-01-01 REMOTE SENSING 2026 18(卷), 1(期), (null页)
Dryland grasslands face elevated risks of rapid threshold crossing under a regime of warming, precipitation redistribution, and intensified interannual hydrothermal variability. Using the Ebinur Lake Basin (ELB) as a case, we developed an integrated structure x function assessment-linking land-use/cover change (LUCC) transitions with functional indicators of net primary productivity (NPP), net ecosystem production (NEP), soil conservation (SC), and grass supply (GS)-and coupled it with Bayesian-optimized XGBoost, SHAP, and partial dependence plots (PDPs) at a 30 m pixel scale to identify dominant drivers and ecological thresholds, subsequently translating them into governance zones. From 2003 to 2023, overall grassland status was dominated by degradation (20,160.62 km(2); 69.42%), with restoration at 8878.85 km(2) (30.57%) and stability at 2.79 km(2) (0.01%). NPP/NEP followed a rise-decline-recovery trajectory, while SC exhibited marked bipolarity. Precipitation and temperature emerged as primary drivers (interaction X3 x X4 = 0.0621), whose effects, together with topography and accessibility, shaped a spatial paradigm of piedmont sensitive-oasis sluggish-lakeshore vulnerable. Key thresholds included an annual precipitation recovery threshold of similar to 200 mm and an optimal window of 272-429 mm; a road-density divide near similar to 0.06 km km(-2); and sustainable grazing windows of similar to 2.2-4.2 and similar to 4.65-5.61 livestock units (LU) km(-2). These thresholds underpinned four management units-Priority Control (52.53%), Monitoring and Alert (21.53%), Natural Recovery (20.40%), and Optimized Maintenance (5.55%)-organized within a "two belts-four zones-one axis" spatial framework, closing the loop from threshold detection to adaptive governance. The approach provides a replicable paradigm for climate-adaptive management and ecological risk mitigation of dryland grasslands under warming.