Fig. 2: Structural Equation Models showing the results from two complementary studies on the effects of climate (change) and land use (cropland versus grassland) on soil multifunctionality.

a SEM using data from 456 sampling sites across Europe and b samples collected at the field experiment GCEF (n = 40 experimental plots). The thickness of the arrows corresponds to the strength of the association based on standardized path coefficients (sum of the absolute standardized effect sizes); only significant relationships (P < 0.05) are shown. The climate variable (a) is a composite variable including temperature and precipitation measurements, each with a monthly and annual value, shown in Box A. Space constitutes elevation and latitude, soil texture is composed of clay, sand, and silt. In both the observational and experimental studies, there was no interactive effect of climate and land use. Direct, indirect and net effect from c climate variables (Box A) and land use on multifunctionality in LUCAS and d standardized direct, indirect and net effect of the future climate treatment and land use on soil multifunctionality in the GCEF. Fishers C is a measure of SEM fit.