Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Changes in temperature, rainfall regimes and water availability, as part of global climate change, lead to increased drought stress, especially in dry ecosystems. Yet empirical evidence of how woody vegetation responds to such climate drying remains scarce. We examined changes in woody cover and species composition across 71 woodland and shrubland sites, spanning the east Mediterranean climatic gradient, resurveyed a decade apart (2008–2009 and 2018–2019). The studied decade was characterized by reduced rainfall and a shorter rainy season combined with consistent warming, resulting in increasing aridity. Woody cover declined in 52% of sites and increased in 24% of them. The magnitude of decline was greatest in arid regions and was strongly predicted by mean annual precipitation. Model selection identified species richness as a stabilizing factor: sites with high species richness experienced smaller losses or maintained stable woody cover. At the species level, we identified seven dominant tree, shrub and sub‐shrub species. Of these, Quercus coccifera var. calliprinos showed consistent increases in cover, correlated with the rainfall gradient, whereas the cover of Pistacia lentiscus , Calicotome villosa , Cistus spp., and Sarcopoterium spinosum declined. The cover of Phillyrea latifolia and Rhamnus spp. was relatively stable. However, climatic variability explained only a small portion of the change in cover of each of the dominant species. Synthesis . Our results reveal a shift from the well‐documented trajectory of secondary woodland regeneration towards regional declines in woody cover under intensifying aridity. Our findings provide rare field‐based evidence that species richness enhances vegetation resistance to climate drying.
Source: Journal of Ecology
Authors: Yoni Waitz, Ron Drori, Efrat Sheffer
Institution: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Climate action
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,610
OpenAlex ID: W7225635840