Increasing aridity threatens the long-term resilience of a Mediterranean oak
Recent changes in climate have triggered widespread mortality events in oak forests worldwide. Despite the ecological importance of these ecosystems, limited information exists on the long-term resilience of oak forests in response to extreme climate events. Quercus canariensis, a semi-deciduous oak...
| Autores: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Sevilla (US) |
| Repositorio: | idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:idus.us.es:11441/180443 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/11441/180443 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123407 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Quercus canariensis Resilience Climate change Oak Dendrochronology Tree-rings Drought |
| Sumario: | Recent changes in climate have triggered widespread mortality events in oak forests worldwide. Despite the ecological importance of these ecosystems, limited information exists on the long-term resilience of oak forests in response to extreme climate events. Quercus canariensis, a semi-deciduous oak species sensitive to the typical summer drought, it is currently showing defoliation and mortality episodes in the drier areas of its natural range. Here, we investigated the long-term impacts of climate on the radial growth of Q. canariensis and assessed changes in resilience to extreme droughts across seven populations in Southern Spain. We observed increase in aridity in the study site since 1984, which coincide a decline in growth performance in most of the populations. Moreover, Q. canariensis resilience index was independent of drought intensity and tree size, although recovery and resistance indices drought intensity plays a crucial role. Additionally, we found divergent trends in recovery (increasing) and resistance (declining) over the last five extreme drought events. This pattern indicates a diminished capacity to maintain pre-drought growth levels, suggesting increased vulnerability to more frequent extreme climatic events. Our growth analyses identified early-warning signals of forest decline in this Mediterranean oak species, identifying the most sensitive populations and highlighting its susceptibility to the impacts of extreme droughts. |
|---|