<![CDATA[Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) has become a central policy framework for translating SDG 15.3 into measurable land action, but its interpretation remains difficult in hyper-arid ecosystems. This critical conceptual review evaluates whether land cover, land productivity, and soil organic carbon are ecologically diagnostic in the world’s driest landscapes. Evidence was synthesized from LDN policy, dryland ecology, soil carbon science, remote sensing, aeolian geomorphology, salinity research, restoration ecology, and Nature-based Solutions. The review shows that sparse vegetation, low productivity, exposed mineral surfaces, and low SOC can represent natural desert reference conditions, while important degradation may occur through wind erosion, salinization, biological soil crust disturbance, hydrological disconnection, thermal stress, and loss of post-rainfall recovery capacity. Four recurrent misclassification pathways are identified: false degradation, false recovery, hidden degradation, and false neutrality. A Functional LDN Framework is proposed to link state, process, function, risk, and feasibility. The framework retains global SDG 15.3.1 comparability while adding dryland-specific diagnostics, recovery memory, and functional equivalence rules. Recalibrating LDN around ecosystem function can improve degraded land management, restoration targeting, and monitoring credibility in hyper-arid regions.]]>
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