Integrating Ecosystem Resilience to Revisit Land Degradation Neutrality in China

ABSTRACT Land degradation neutrality (LDN) plays a pivotal role in guiding global land systems toward sustainable and resilient futures. Yet current assessment frameworks rely largely on static indicators, and integration of ecosystem resilience (ER) remains underexplored. To address this gap, we proposed a “dominant‐latent” assessment framework integrating ER with LDN. Land cover, land productivity, and soil organic carbon represent the dominant dimensions for LDN assessment, while resistance, recovery, and asymmetry capture the latent ER dynamics. Using this framework, we mapped national patterns of LDN and ER across China and assessed their spatial alignment and divergence. Our results revealed that recent China's LDN achievements rely on significant improvements in land productivity, yet soil organic carbon degradation remains uncontained, particularly in the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas. More than a quarter of China's land area exhibits increasing ER vulnerability, with the hotspots on the Tibetan Plateau, Loess Plateau, northeastern forests, and Huaihe Plain. In several regions, notably northeastern forests and the Sichuan Basin, apparent gains in LDN obscure deeper declines in ecosystem resilience. Conversely, in southern Tibetan valleys and the Liaohe Plain, improvements in resilience occur alongside ongoing LDN degradation. Overall, these findings highlight the necessity of incorporating ER into LDN assessments to uncover latent degradation risks and support effective ecosystem management. Our findings provide actionable guidance for prioritizing restoration and strengthening adaptive land governance in support of global LDN target.