Climate of the Pyrenees: Extremes indices and long-term trends.

We utilized an extensive, multisource, cross-border dataset of daily meteorological observations from over 1500 stations in the Pyrenees, spanning from the mid-20th century to 2020, to examine the spatial and temporal climate patterns. Our focus was on 17 indices related to extreme precipitation and temperature events across the mountain range. The original data underwent rigorous quality control and homogenization processes, employing a comprehensive workflow that included spatial modeling based on environmental predictors. This process yielded two main outcomes: 1) a high-resolution gridded dataset (1 km2) of daily precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature from 1981 to 2020, allowing for a detailed analysis of spatial variations; and 2) an evaluation of long-term annual and seasonal trends from 1959 to 2020, using selection of high-quality data series that were homogenized to preserve their temporal structure and coherence. The findings revealed a clear elevation-related pattern in temperature indices (with the exception of tropical nights, which were predominantly observed on the Mediterranean side) and a distinct north-south latitudinal disparity in precipitation, turning longitudinal when focusing on extreme precipitation events. Overall, there was a notable and significant warming trend of 0.2 to 0.4 °C per decade, and a non-significant change of precipitation, with the exception of the southern and Mediterranean regions, where there was a notable decrease, approximately -3 % per decade, observed on an annual basis.

Cell-level anatomical characteristics explain high mesophyll conductance and photosynthetic capacity in sclerophyllous Mediterranean oaks.

Leaf mass per area (LMA) has been suggested to negatively affect the mesophyll conductance to CO2 (gm ), which is the most limiting factor for area-based photosynthesis (AN ) in many Mediterranean sclerophyll species. However, despite their high LMA, these species have similar AN to plants from other biomes. Variations in other leaf anatomical traits, such as mesophyll and chloroplast surface area exposed to intercellular air space (Sm /S and Sc /S), may offset the restrictions imposed by high LMA in gm and AN in these species. Seven sclerophyllous Mediterranean oaks from Europe/North Africa and North America with contrasting LMA were compared in terms of morphological, anatomical and photosynthetic traits. Mediterranean oaks showed specific differences in AN that go beyond the common morphological leaf traits reported for these species (reduced leaf area and thick leaves). These variations resulted mainly from the differences in gm , the most limiting factor for carbon assimilation in these species. Species with higher AN showed increased Sc /S, which implies increased gm without changes in stomatal conductance. The occurrence of this anatomical adaptation at the cell level allowed evergreen oaks to reach AN values comparable to congeneric deciduous species despite their higher LMA.

Tree-ring-based drought reconstruction in the Iberian Range (east of Spain) since 1694.

Droughts are a recurrent phenomenon in the Mediterranean basin with negative consequences for society, economic activities, and natural systems. Nevertheless, the study of drought recurrence and severity in Spain has been limited so far due to the relatively short instrumental period. In this work, we present a reconstruction of the standardized precipitation index (SPI) for the Iberian Range. Growth variations and climatic signals within the network are assessed developing a correlation matrix and the data combined to a single chronology integrating 336 samples from 169 trees of five different pine species distributed throughout the province of Teruel. The new chronology, calibrated against regional instrumental climatic data, shows a high and stable correlation with the July SPI integrating moisture conditions over 12 months forming the basis for a 318-year drought reconstruction. The climate signal contained in this reconstruction is highly significant (p < 0.05) and spatially robust over the interior areas of Spain located above 1000 meters above sea level (masl). According to our SPI reconstruction, seven substantially dry and five wet periods are identified since the late seventeenth century considering ≥±1.76 standard deviations. Besides these, 36 drought and 28 pluvial years were identified. Some of these years, such as 1725, 1741, 1803, and 1879, are also revealed in other drought reconstructions in Romania and Turkey, suggesting that coherent larger-scale synoptic patterns drove these extreme deviations. Since regional drought deviations are also retained in historical documents, the tree-ring-based reconstruction presented here will allow us to cross-validate drought frequency and magnitude in a highly vulnerable region.

Plasticity in dendroclimatic response across the distribution range of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis).

We investigated the variability of the climate-growth relationship of Aleppo pine across its distribution range in the Mediterranean Basin. We constructed a network of tree-ring index chronologies from 63 sites across the region. Correlation function analysis identified the relationships of tree-ring index to climate factors for each site. We also estimated the dominant climatic gradients of the region using principal component analysis of monthly, seasonal, and annual mean temperature and total precipitation from 1,068 climatic gridpoints. Variation in ring width index was primarily related to precipitation and secondarily to temperature. However, we found that the dendroclimatic relationship depended on the position of the site along the climatic gradient. In the southern part of the distribution range, where temperature was generally higher and precipitation lower than the regional average, reduced growth was also associated with warm and dry conditions. In the northern part, where the average temperature was lower and the precipitation more abundant than the regional average, reduced growth was associated with cool conditions. Thus, our study highlights the substantial plasticity of Aleppo pine in response to different climatic conditions. These results do not resolve the source of response variability as being due to either genetic variation in provenance, to phenotypic plasticity, or a combination of factors. However, as current growth responses to inter-annual climate variability vary spatially across existing climate gradients, future climate-growth relationships will also likely be determined by differential adaptation and/or acclimation responses to spatial climatic variation. The contribution of local adaptation and/or phenotypic plasticity across populations to the persistence of species under global warming could be decisive for prediction of climate change impacts across populations. In this sense, a more complex forest dynamics modeling approach that includes the contribution of genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity can improve the reliability of the ecological inferences derived from the climate-growth relationships.