Self-organization in dryland ecosystems enhances resilience by enabling vegetation to adapt to environmental stress. This study analyzed global drylands using remote sensing, field data, and models, revealing that vegetation patterns strengthen with increasing aridity, maintaining soil multifunctionality. Self-organized patterns allow drylands to adapt to stress while preserving function, unlike degraded ecosystems. These patterns also serve as early warning signals for resilience loss. Theoretical models suggest that self-organization improves ecosystem function and resilience, but empirical evidence is limited. The study found that healthier drylands maintain spatial structure and soil multifunctionality under stress, while degraded sites show reduced resilience. Spatial metrics like patch size distribution, connectivity, and variance indicate resilience changes. Healthy sites exhibit stable patterns, whereas degraded sites show breakdown. The results highlight the importance of spatial patterns in dryland resilience and suggest that self-organization is a key mechanism for maintaining ecosystem function. The study contributes to understanding dryland resilience and developing indicators for ecosystem management in a warming, drier world.Self-organization in dryland ecosystems enhances resilience by enabling vegetation to adapt to environmental stress. This study analyzed global drylands using remote sensing, field data, and models, revealing that vegetation patterns strengthen with increasing aridity, maintaining soil multifunctionality. Self-organized patterns allow drylands to adapt to stress while preserving function, unlike degraded ecosystems. These patterns also serve as early warning signals for resilience loss. Theoretical models suggest that self-organization improves ecosystem function and resilience, but empirical evidence is limited. The study found that healthier drylands maintain spatial structure and soil multifunctionality under stress, while degraded sites show reduced resilience. Spatial metrics like patch size distribution, connectivity, and variance indicate resilience changes. Healthy sites exhibit stable patterns, whereas degraded sites show breakdown. The results highlight the importance of spatial patterns in dryland resilience and suggest that self-organization is a key mechanism for maintaining ecosystem function. The study contributes to understanding dryland resilience and developing indicators for ecosystem management in a warming, drier world.