To develop a robust, transferable, and cost-effective interdisciplinary monitoring, experimental, and modeling program that integrates a conceptual-methodological framework to identify spatial patterns of the functional dry land CZ(critical zone) using EI (ecological integrity).) To study, in the CZ, soil functions (e.g. infiltration capacity, soil water retention) water cycling (e.g. rainfall-runoff-soil moisture- evaporation-transpiration) the function of the biotic ecosystem engineers (e.g. their role in soil and water conservation and leakage) and their integrated effect on geodiversity and biodiversity, ecosystem function, EI and ecosystem services at the catchment scale.To provide a functional representation of the CZ and its EI, driven by soil functions and ecosystem biotic engineers in complex landscape mosaic of dry lands.
