**4. Conclusions**

The dynamic behavior of a system depends on what kind of loops drive it. When it is a positive one, it tends to behave more abruptly, while if negative ones dominate, it tends to stabilize. Therefore, understanding how these loops arise, how they are activated and how they interact, gives us clues about the sustainability or collapse (i.e., desertification) of a given system. In this sense, SD is an exploratory rather than a predictive tool. That is, the interesting thing is to qualitatively interpret outputs that respond to different 'what if' questions that are processed by differential equations (i.e., the SD model, a quantitative method).

The power of SD lies in the fact that it is easy for people who have no previous experience in conceptualizing complex problems, such as the search for sustainable development. The confrontation between the need to create wealth and well-being and maintain the stock of natural resources that provide a series of fundamental services for nature to continue to function requires holistic tools in which various stakeholders, academics or decision makers participate. In a short time, causal diagrams conceptualizing this debate are put up, highlighting the trade-offs, contradictions, and multiple points of view of the participants. With a little more effort, these diagrams translate the discussion into models that can be simulated so that very simple experiments with counterfactual situations can be implemented to analyze what would have happened under various scenarios (e.g., climate and land-use change).

This approach fits very well with the implementation of LDN, which should be based on land planning and governance. What LDN aims to do is to channel existing plans, so that there are no contradictions or overlaps, and the impact of the various economic activities is counterbalanced by restoring measures. The results should lead us to a neutral human footprint, allowing the coexistence of human societies and nature.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, J.M.-V. and D.G.; methodology, J.M.-V.; software, J.M.-V.; formal analysis, J.M.-V. and D.G.; investigation, J.M.-V., D.G. and Z.A.; writing—original draft preparation, J.M.-V.; writing—review and editing, J.M.-V., D.G. and Z.A.; visualization, J.M.-V.; supervision, J.M.-V. and D.G.; funding acquisition, J.M.-V. and D.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by MICINN through European Regional Development Fund [SUMHAL, LIFEWATCH-2019-09- CSIC-4, POPE 2014-2020] and the regional collaborative innovation project for Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Shanghai Cooperation Organization Science and Technology Partnership project), gran<sup>t</sup> number 2021E01016.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** No new data were created or analyzed in this study. Data sharing is not applicable to this article.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
