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Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is a suitable species for restoring Mediterranean ecosystems due to its capacity to resprout after wildfires and its economic importance for the use of cork. Several studies have focused on improving the seedling quality and abiotic conditions at the outplanting site to favour the field performance of Q. suber, however, most studies have been conducted by independently testing treatments. The aim of this study was to assess the combined effect of three techniques that focused on reforestation success with Q. suber in Mediterranean degraded shrubland: (i) a nursery technique to improve root system development, such as the use of deep containers to develop a longer tap root, combined with two field techniques such as (ii) the use of tree shelters to diminish solar radiation stress, and (iii) shrubland treatments to reduce competition for soil water and nutrients. For this purpose, 1-year-old Q. suber seedlings were grown in two containers types: a shallow container (CCS-18) and a deep container (CCL-30). Seedlings were established in a degraded shrubland at three experimental sites in the Calderona mountain range of Castellón, Spain. A factorial design was combined based on container type (CCS-18 and CCL-30), shrubland management (undisturbed shrubland and cleared shrubland in strips) and tree shelters (vegetable fibre tree shelters and no tree shelters). After 2 years of monitoring, the outplanting results indicated that using: (i) a deep container produced a longer taproot, but did not favour better survival or better field performance of seedlings; (ii) tree shelters improved the microweather conditions around seedlings, particularly by reducing excess incoming solar radiation; (iii) cleared shrubland strips reduced competition for soil water by favouring a higher water potential, better maximum photochemical PSII efficiency and higher survival rates for the seedlings established into cleared sites. The results indicate that the cleared shrubland treatment effects overlap the effects of using deep containers and tree shelters. This, in turn, reveals that shrubland clearing is the most suitable technique for favouring the introduction of a resprouter species like Q. suber into ecosystems characterized by predominantly degraded shrublands. This research was partially funded by the Centro para la Investigación y Experimentación Forestal (CIEF) and by the Fundación Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM), both from Comunidad Valenciana (Spain). Author JCMR is grateful to the Instituto de Fomento al Talento Humano (IFTH) of the Government of Ecuador for the fellowship granted for postgraduate studies abroad. AV work was partially funded by Projects CGL-2011-30531-CO2-02 and CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P MINECO/FEDER from the Spanish Government. CEAM is supported by the Generalitat Valenciana and IMAGINA project (PROMETEU/2019/110 – Generalitat Valenciana).

Assessing differences in plant functional traits (PFTs) along climatic gradients is potentially useful for understanding variation within and across populations, and for predicting their responses to climate change. This study investigates the intraspecific variability of several PFTs in Stipa tenacissima (Alpha grass) seedlings from different populations distributed across a climatic gradient. Seven populations from Tunisia to Spain within a 100–600 mm/year rainfall range were selected. Seedlings from each population were grown in a common garden. We expected the functional characteristics to differ among seedling populations according to their climatic gradient. The response patterns were helpful to predict acclimation and fitness under future climatic conditions in these populations. The seedling development analysis showed differences in PFTs among S. tenacissima populations. The biomass traits analysis revealed that higher above-ground biomass was related to higher below-ground development. The leaf traits proved that seedlings with longer leaf length would have less sclerophyllous leaves, a trade-off between productivity and drought resistance. The root traits analysis reflects seedling strategies to maximize resource uptake efficiency. PFTs showed several significant relationships with climatic conditions. The less rainfall, the higher plant allocation to root systems exploring soil. Higher mean temperatures were related to reduced root/plant development. The PFT analysis proves that species followed the ‘optimal partitioning theory’, in that plants preferentially allocate biomass to acquire the resource that most limits their development. However, both the environmental conditions and genetic diversity in S. tenacissima populations influenced seedling growth and behaviour to face ongoing climate change. AV’s work was partially funded by Projects CGL-2011-30531-CO2-02 and CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P MINECO/FEDER by the Spanish Government, and by the Prometeo Program (FEEDBACK project, 2009/006) by the Generalitat Valenciana. CEAM is supported by the Generalitat Valenciana.

La estructura espacial refleja el patrón de disposición de los árboles sobre el terreno y es un elemento básico para entender la dinámica de los ecosistemas forestales. El objetivo de la presente investigación fue evaluar las características estructurales bivariadas de cinco asociaciones diferentes de bosques de Pinus durangensis, identificando las similitudes y diferencias en la distribución bivariada de uniformidad de ángulos, dominancia y mezcla. Los datos provienen de cinco sitios cuadrados con superficie de 2500 m2, establecidos cada uno en diferentes bosques de P. durangensis en la Sierra Madre Occidental. Para cada sitio se determinó altura promedio, diámetro promedio y cobertura de copa, así como índices de mezcla de especies, uniformidad de ángulos y dominancia. Los índices se combinaron dos a dos para obtener tres distribuciones bivariantes. El bosque puro de P. durangensis presentó los individuos con mayor altura, mientras que el mayor diámetro fue para la asociación con P. teocote. El índice de mezcla (Mi) indica que solo en el bosque puro existe una baja mezcla de especies. El índice de uniformidad de ángulos (Wi) muestra que los árboles, de manera general, tienen una distribución aleatoria. Los valores de dominancia (Ui) muestran que en todos los sitios existen todas las clases sociales representadas de manera equitativa. Los índices y sus combinaciones describen adecuadamente la distribución espacial de los árboles y su relación con sus vecinos más cercanos. La información obtenida de la combinación de las variables estructurales contribuye a mejorar la comprensión de la estructura espacial del bosque y contribuye a la regulación de la intensidad de corta y garantizar una gestión sostenible. The spatial structure reflects the pattern of arrangement of trees on the ground and is a basic element to understand the dynamics of forest ecosystems. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the bivariate structural characteristics of five different associations of Pinus durangensis forests, identifying the similarities and differences in the bivariate distribution of uniformity of angles, dominance and mingling. The data comes from five quadrate sites with an area of 2500 m2, each established in different forests of P. durangensis in the Sierra Madre Occidental. For each site, the average height, average diameter and crown coverage were determined, as well as the species mingling index, angle uniformity and dominance indexes. The indices were combined two to two to obtain three bivariate distributions. The pure forest of P. durangensis presented individuals with higher height, while the largest diameter was found in the association with P. teocote. The mingling index (Mi) indicates that only in the pure forest there is a low species mingling. The uniformity angle index (Wi) shows that trees generally present a random distribution. The values of dominance (Ui) show that in all the sites there are all the social classes represented in an equitable way. The indexes and their combinations adequately describe the spatial distribution of the trees and their relationship with their closest neighbors. The information obtained from the combination of the structural variables contribute to improve the understanding of the spatial structure of the forest, and in addition to contributing to the regulation of cutting intensity and ensuring sustainable management.

Drylands functioning depends on water fluxes and the retention of resources. The restoration of degraded areas should mimic the natural arrangement of vegetation in the landscape in a source-sink pattern. Reintroducing key woody seedlings through planting is a major concern in ecological restoration as these areas often exceed degradation thresholds and ecosystem functions are limited. However, it is not clear how natural fluxes might determine seedlings performance of key woody species. We have analyzed the microcatchment surface area of planting spots with and without water optimization treatment (waterproof surfaces with dry wells) and the survival and growth of Olea europaea seedlings during six years after planting in a semiarid degraded landscape. We recorded a positive effect of water optimization treatment in seedling survival and growth highlighting water limitation of these sites. We did not observe a clear and linear relationship between microcatchment collecting surface area and plant performance. The higher the collecting surface the lower the retention capacity of the planting pitch suggesting a loss of the integrity of the planting hole structure. Water optimization treatments were especially effective when collecting surface areas were low. These results might be useful for designing precision restoration actions in degraded landscapes. Fundación CEAM is supported by Generalitat Valenciana, and the projects IMAGINA (PROMETEO/2019/110 - Generalitat Valenciana), INERTIA (PID 2019-111332RB-C22 – Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation), LORAIN (AGL 2008-05532- C02-02- Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation), and RECUVES (077/RN08/04.1 - Spanish Ministry of Environment).

Summarization: Droughts can have strong environmental and socio-economic impacts in the Mediterranean region, in particular for countries relying on rain-fed agricultural production, but also in areas in which irrigation plays an important role and in which natural vegetation has been modified or is subject to water stress. The purpose of this review is to provide an assessment of the complexity of the drought phenomenon in the Mediterranean region and present various perspectives on drought in the present and under future climate change scenarios. The projections of various model experiments on future climate change scenarios strongly agree on an increased frequency and severity of droughts in the Mediterranean basin. Nevertheless, given the complexity of the phenomenon, with different types of droughts and complex interrelated impacts, significant future uncertainties remain. For example, uncertainties are stronger for hydrological droughts than meteorological droughts due to human influences and water withdrawal. Significant drought impacts are expected in the future, in particular for developing countries in the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean basin. To improve the resilience and adaptive capacities of societies and environments faced with drought, we aim to provide an overview of the key issues in research on climate change impacts on droughts, with a specific focus on the Mediterranean region, in order to: i) redefine more meaningful drought metrics tailored to the Mediterranean context, ii) better take into account vegetation and its feedback on droughts, iii) improve the modelling and forecasting of drought events through remote sensing and land surface models, and iv) promote a more integrated vision of droughts taking into account both water availability and water use. This overview reflects the complexity of the problem and the need to combine scientific research with adaptation solutions to deal with drought in the future. Presented on

Research Highlights: Seedlings of different Quercus suber L. populations and half-sib families differ in their response to multiple stressors, which may have consequences on the future distribution of this Mediterranean species. Background and Objectives: Global change will likely increase the frequency and severity of drought in drylands. Plant species&rsquo, distributions will largely depend on their ability to respond to the combined effect of drought and other environmental stressors. Genetic diversity in morpho-functional traits are key components of this response. Yet, information on the response to multiple stresses is scarce for many iconic species. The present study assessed the variability in the response of populations and half-sib families of a Mediterranean acidophilous tree, cork oak, to drought and changes in soil conditions. Materials and Methods: We sampled acorns of half-sib families from two cork oak populations genetically introgressed with the alkaline-tolerant species Quercus ilex L., and from a non-introgressed cork oak population located in its core habitat. We germinated the acorns and subjected seedlings to contrasted levels of water availability and additions of calcium and magnesium carbonate, and assessed their morpho-physiological response. Results: Response to drought and soil chemistry composition differed between populations and families. For some traits, introgressed populations responded similarly to drought than the non-introgressed population. Conversely, the response to soil chemistry was not clearly related to introgression. When considering half-sib families within populations, the population effect diminished, which revealed the importance of intra-population variation. However, relevant traits for water scarcity adaptations, such as specific leaf area and root:shoot ratio, remained significantly different at the population level, which highlights the relevance of these traits for management. Conclusions: Our study shows that the adaptive management and restoration of cork oak forests should consider not only geographic provenances, but also half-sib lines within populations.

Climate warming should result in hotter droughts of unprecedented severity in this century. Such droughts have been linked with massive tree mortality, and data suggest that warming interacts with drought to aggravate plant performance. Yet how forests will respond to hotter droughts remains unclear, as does the suite of mechanisms trees use to deal with hot droughts. We used an ecosystem‐scale manipulation of precipitation and temperature on piñon pine (Pinus edulis) and juniper (Juniperus monosperma) trees to investigate nitrogen (N) cycling‐induced mitigation processes related to hotter droughts. We found that while negative impacts on plant carbon and water balance are manifest after prolonged drought, performance reductions were not amplified by warmer temperatures. Rather, increased temperatures for 5 years stimulated soil N cycling under piñon trees and modified tree N allocation for both species, resulting in mitigation of hotter drought impacts on tree water and carbon functions. These findings suggest that adjustments in N cycling are likely after multi‐year warming conditions and that such changes may buffer reductions in tree performance during hotter droughts. The results highlight our incomplete understanding of trees' ability to acclimate to climate change, raising fundamental questions about the resistance potential of forests to long‐term, compound climatic stresses. Pacific Northwest National Laboratories; Swiss Federal Research Institute; Swiss Forest Lab; Swiss National Science Foundation SNF, Grant/Award Number: 31003A_159866; U.S. Geological Survey; U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Grant/Award Number: DESC‐0008168; Spanish Government, Grant/Award Number: CGL2015‐69773‐C2‐2‐P; Generalitat Valenciana, Grant/Award Number: BEST/2016/289; Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The extensive abandonment of agricultural lands in the Mediterranean basin has led to large landscapes being dominated by early-successional species, characterized by high flammability and an increasing fire risk. This fact promotes fire occurrence and places ecosystems in a state of arrested succession. In this work, we assessed the effectiveness of several restoration actions in redirecting these ecosystems toward more resilient communities dominated by resprouting species. These actions included the mechanical clearing of early-successional species, the plantation of resprouting species, and the combination of both treatments. For 13 years, we assessed shifts in the successional trajectory and ecosystem flammability by changes in: species composition, species richness, ecosystem evenness, the natural colonization of resprouting species, total biomass and proportion of dead biomass. We observed that the plantation and clearing combination was a suitable strategy to promote resilience. Species richness increased as well as the presence of the resprouting species introduced by planting. The natural colonization of the resprouting species was also enhanced. These changes in the successional trajectory were accompanied by a possible reduction of fire risk by reducing dead fuel proportion. These findings are relevant for the management of Mediterranean basin areas, but also suggest new tools for redirecting systems in fire-prone areas worldwide. This research was financed by the DESESTRES (PROMETEO II ES/2014/038), GESFIRE (ULE/CEAM), SURVIVE-2 (CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P) and the CASCADE (European Commission FP7/GA283068) projects. VMS was supported by a “Beatriu de Pinós” fellowship (2014BP-B-00056) from the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Identifying the degree of adaptation to particular environmental constraints at small geographical scales (e.g., intra-population variability) is particularly valuable to select plant reproductive material in restoration projects. We analyzed possible differences among progeny characteristics of Quercus coccifera L. a species of interest in forest restoration under Mediterranean climates. The differences were tested among seeds and seedlings from two phenotypic groupings (small and large leaves) within one provenance under semi-arid climate. In addition, these seeds and seedlings were compared with those from a near population under contrasted climate (i.e., subhumid climate). We analyzed differences in germination, growth and seedling morphological traits (height, number of leaves and canopy area). We considered the different characteristics of the progeny across different parent individuals, intra- and inter-population levels. We found seed provenance effects on germination and seedling morphology at different scales. Progenies from semi-arid populations and from parent plants with a smaller leaf size showed lower germination rates and lower development of above-ground structures (shoots and leaves). Our results suggest that intrapopulation variability for phenotypic traits, such as leaf size, could influence offspring fitness. In addition, these morphological traits are easily identifiable by stakeholders and could be a useful tool to ensure early plant establishment in reforestation programs. This work was supported by Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM 1-01I Project) and the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente (ESTRES Project-063/SGTB/2007/7.1 and RECUVES Project-077/RN08/04.1). E. Pastor was supported by Font Roja Natura UA Scientific Station (ECFRNUA), depending on the Office of the Vice President for Research and Knowledge Transfer of the University of Alicante. A. Vilagrosa was supported by Spanish Government and Generalitat Valenciana (Survive-2, CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P MINECO/FEDER and Prometeo Program -DESESTRES/2014/038).

Soils of Mediterranean drylands are characterized by a low fertility and organic matter content because of past land use and disturbances regime. The restoration of these degraded lands faces at the same time problems related to water scarcity and the unpredictability of precipitations with problems with soil physical, chemical, and microbiological properties. Organic amendments may help to improve soil properties and, consequently, enhance planted seedling establishment and performance. In this study, we assessed the C balance of 3 Mediterranean areas planted with Pinus halepensis Mill. seedlings with different treatments of biosolid application. The assessment was conducted at different times after the establishment of treatments and the C dynamics are discussed. We considered 3 biosolid types (air‐dried, fresh sludge, and composted sludge) in application doses ranging from 10 to 320 Mg (d.w.) ha−1. We quantified basal area, pine biomass, biomass of spontaneous vegetation, litter, root density, and soil organic matter. All 3 experimental restoration studies improved restoration success in terms of basal area (ranging from 15% to 300%), especially in composted biosolid at 30 Mg (d.w.) ha−1, whereas litter and, especially, root biomass increased with all biosolid treatments and times since application. Soil organic C was higher in application doses above 30 Mg (dry weight) ha−1 due to the organic matter applied with the sludges. The increment in C sequestration rates associated to these restoration treatments ranged between 0.046 and 0.293 kg C m2 yr−1. These results confirm the suitability of organic amendments as restoration technique in Mediterranean degraded drylands. This research was conducted within the framework of research projects funded by the Spanish Ministries of Environment (BIOMET‐608/2006/1‐4.4), the European Commission FP7 (CASCADE/GA283068), and the Government of the Valencia Region (DESESTRES‐PROMETEUII/2014/038).

16 Pags.- 2 Tabls.- 5 Figs. © The Authors, under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0., Forests provide many environmental services, especially those related to the water cycle. In semiarid areas where water is a limiting factor for ecosystem functioning, forested areas can have a strong impact on ground water recharge. In these areas, proper knowledge of forests’ water balance is necessary to promote management practices that may ensure ecosystem properties and environmental services like water or carbon fixation. In this article, we review several ecohydrology topics within the framework of Mediterranean water-limited environments in two representative ecosystems: Kermes oak (Quercus ilex L.) and Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) forests. Both are the commonest species in countries that surround the Western Mediterranean Basin. We analysed the Blue and Green water components, i.e., green water is the water demand of forests, represented by evapotranspiration and interception; while blue water is the part of the balance involving runoff and deep percolation, which can be regarded as water directly usable by society. In general, different studies conducted in Mediterranean areas have pointed out that the water balances of Q. ilex and P. halepensis forests have low values for the Blue to Green water (B/G) ratios. Adaptive forest management like forest thinning can compensate for these ratios. Thinning has demonstrated to reduce losses by interception, but at same time, it can also increase individual tree transpiration and evaporation rates. However, these practices lead to higher B/G ratios when considering the whole stand. In future global change scenarios, in which drought conditions are expected to intensify, management practices can improve the water balance in these ecosystems by minimizing the risk of plant mortality and species replacement due to intense competence by water resources., This research was partially founded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness trough the projects ALTERACLIM (CGL2015-69773-C2-1-P), SURVIVE-2 (CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P MINECO/FEDER), HYDROSIL (CGL2011-28776-C02-02), SILWAMED (CGL2014-58127-C3-2), CEHYRFO-MED (CGL2017-86839-C3-2-R), INTEGRA (CGL2011-28776-C02), E-HIDROMED (CGL2014-58127-C3), and FEDER funds. E.V. gives thanks for a predoctoral fellowship funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness within the above cited project ALTERACLIM. A.d.C. and M.G.-S. are grateful to the Valencia Regional Government (CMAAUV, Generalitat Valenciana). A.M.-A. was supported by an FPI scholarship. CEAM is supported by the Generalitat Valenciana.

Antecedentes y Objetivos: Los estudios de comunidades vegetales permiten conocer los impactos causados por las actividades agrícolas y pecuarias, especialmente en las zonas áridas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue contrastar la diversidad, composición y estructura de los estratos arbóreo y arbustivo de tres áreas (Agroforestal, Regenerada y Referencia) del matorral xerófilo. Métodos: Se establecieron tres áreas con cuatro sitios de muestreo de 1600 m2 cada una, elegidos al azar, en donde se censaron y registraron los individuos arbóreos y arbustivos. En cada área se calcularon parámetros ecológicos, así como los índices de Shannon y Margalef. Resultados clave: Considerando las tres áreas, se registró un total de 25 especies de plantas vasculares pertenecientes a 22 géneros y 15 familias. Fabaceae fue la familia mejor representada con nueve especies, siendo el género Acacia el que tuvo un mayor número (tres). Los valores de riqueza de especies, el índice de Shannon, índice de Margalef y abundancia, entre el área Referencia y Agroforestal, fueron similares, y en ambos los resultados fueron significativamente mayores que los valores del área Regenerada. El área Agroforestal presentó menor abundancia pero mayor dominancia comparada con las otras dos áreas estudiadas y fue el área que alcanzó el mayor porcentaje de similitud con el área de Referencia. Conclusiones: La actividad Agroforestal contribuye en cierta manera con el mantenimiento de la diversidad y la composición de plantas vasculares del matorral espinoso tamaulipeco estudiado; y dicha actividad no permite cambiar en gran medida la composición y estructura de este tipo de vegetación. Background and Aims: The studies of plant communities allow to know the impacts caused by the agricultural and livestock activities, especially in arid zones. The objective of this work was to contrast the diversity, composition and structure of the arboreal and shrub strata of three areas (Agroforestry, Regenerated and Reference) of the xerophilous scrub. Methods: In each area four sampling sites of 1600 m2 each one were established randomly, where all arboreal and shrubby individuals were registered and censused. In each area, ecological parameters were calculated, as well as the Shannon and Margalef indices. Key results: In the three areas, a total of 25 species of vascular plants belonging to 22 genera and 15 families were registered. The best represented family was Fabaceae with nine species, being the genus Acacia the one that presented the largest species number (three). The observed values of species richness, the Shannon index, Margalef index and abundance between the Reference and Agroforestry area were similar, and both were significantly higher than the values of the Regenerated area. The Agroforestry area presented lower abundance but greater dominance compared with the other two areas studied, and it was the area that reached the highest percentage of similarity with the Reference area. Conclusions: The Agroforestry activity contributes in a certain way in the maintenance of the diversity and composition of vascular plants of the Tamaulipan thorn scrub studied; and this activity does not allow to change to a large extent the composition and structure of this type of vegetation. Este estudio fue apoyado parcialmente por el proyecto PROMEP/103.5/12/3585.

[EN] BackgroundForest species ranges are confined by environmental limitations such as cold stress. The natural range shifts of pine forests due to climate change and proactive-assisted population migration may each be constrained by the ability of pine species to tolerate low temperatures, especially in northern latitudes or in high altitudes. The aim of this study is to characterize the response of cold-tolerant versus cold-sensitive Pinus halepensis (P. halepensis) seedlings at the physiological and the molecular level under controlled cold conditions to identify distinctive features which allow us to explain the phenotypic difference. With this objective gas-exchange and water potential was determined and the photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, glutathione and free amino acids content were measured in seedlings of different provenances under control and cold stress conditions.ResultsGlucose and fructose content can be highlighted as a potential distinctive trait for cold-tolerant P. halepensis seedlings. At the amino acid level, there was a significant increase and accumulation of glutathione, proline, glutamic acid, histidine, arginine and tryptophan along with a significant decrease of glycine.ConclusionOur results established that the main difference between cold-tolerant and cold-sensitive seedlings of P. halepensis is the ability to accumulate the antioxidant glutathione and osmolytes such as glucose and fructose, proline and arginine., This study is a part of the research project: "Application of molecular biology techniques in forest restoration in Mediterranean environments, PAID-05-11" funded by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV), program for supporting R&D of new multidisciplinary research lines. The authors are grateful to the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad AGL2014-57431-P and BIO2016-77776-P. AV was supported by project Survive-2 (CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P MINECO/FEDER) by the Spanish Government and Prometeo program (DESESTRES Generalitat Valenciana). CEAM is funded by Generalitat Valenciana. None of the funding bodies was involved in the design of the study; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and in writing of the manuscript which were performed entirely by the signing authors.

Predictions of warmer droughts causing increasing forest mortality are becoming abundant, yet few studies have investigated the mechanisms of forest persistence. To examine the resistance of forests to warmer droughts, we used a five-year precipitation reduction (~45% removal), heat (+4 °C above ambient) and combined drought and heat experiment in an isolated stand of mature Pinus edulis-Juniperus monosperma. Despite severe experimental drought and heating, no trees died, and we observed only minor evidence of hydraulic failure or carbon starvation. Two mechanisms promoting survival were supported. First, access to bedrock water, or 'hydraulic refugia' aided trees in their resistance to the experimental conditions. Second, the isolation of this stand amongst a landscape of dead trees precluded ingress by Ips confusus, frequently the ultimate biotic mortality agent of piñon. These combined abiotic and biotic landscape-scale processes can moderate the impacts of future droughts on tree mortality by enabling tree avoidance of hydraulic failure, carbon starvation, and exposure to attacking abiotic agents. This project was supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Science, and Pacific Northwest National Lab’s LDRD program. DDB participation was supported via NSF EF-1340624; EF-1550756, and EAR-1331408, DEB-1824796 and DEB-1833502. CG was supported by a Director’s Fellowship from the Los Alamos National Laboratory and by the Swiss National Science Foundation SNF (PZ00P3_174068). AV was supported by a fellowship from Generalitat Valenciana (BEST/2016/289) and the project Survive-2 (CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P MINECO/FEDER) from the Spanish Government. DSM was supported via NSF IOS-1450679, IOS-1444571, and IOS-1547796.

In Mediterranean forests and rangelands, the supply of important ecosystem services can decrease or cease as a consequence of disturbances and climatic oscillations. Land managers can sometimes prevent or mitigate the negative effects of disturbances through appropriate land management choices. In this study, we assess the contribution of land management practices (LMPs) to the resilience of eight Mediterranean forests and rangelands to multiple disturbances. The study uses a transdisciplinary approach, involving scientists, land managers, and local administrators. Data about disturbances, ecosystem services, the role of LMPs, and the resistance of LMPs to disturbances are combined using a semiquantitative index and analysed to evaluate how the LMPs implemented are suited to the disturbances affecting each study site. Our results indicate that the practices analysed are particularly effective in improving resilience of ecosystems against wildfires and torrential rainfalls. However, droughts are more difficult to address, and the examined practices were heavily affected by their occurrence. Tree planting appears to be highly affected by disturbances. Practices that selectively reduce the amount of vegetation appear to be beneficial in fostering recovery of ecosystems. Our assessment also suggests that it is particularly difficult to increase resilience to droughts and fires simultaneously. Practices that aimed to mitigate the impact of land use did not always prove valuable in terms of resilience. Finally, study sites that included efforts to address disturbances in their management objectives also displayed practices making the biggest contribution to resilience. This paper was developed within the CASCADE project (Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007–2013 grant agreement 283068). We thank the following for their financial support: CESAM (UID/AMB/50017); FTC/MEC, FEDER and PT2020 Partnership Agreement (Portugal); Generalitat Valenciana (DESESTRES ‐ program PROMETEO II/2014/038, Spain); Compete 2020; and European Cooperation in Science and Technology ES1104.