Wild biomass perennial grasses show tolerance to dry conditions in a Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean open marine and coastal ecosystems face multiple risks that impact their unique biodiversity, with climate change representing a major ongoing threat. While these ecosystems are also under pressure from non-climatic anthropogenic drivers (e.g., overfishing, pollution), this study primarily focuses on risks related to climate change. To assess these risks and evaluate their confidence levels, we adopt the scenario-based approach of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), relying on a review of literature projecting changes in Mediterranean Sea ecosystems. The main drivers of environmental change are sea level rise, ocean warming and acidification. Similar to global conditions, all Mediterranean ecosystems face high risks under all climate scenarios, with coastal ecosystems being more strongly impacted than open marine ecosystems. For these coastal ecosystems, risk levels are expected to become very high already once global warming exceeds 0.8 °C with respect to the 1976–2005 period. A few Mediterranean ecosystems (e.g., coralligenous and rocky coasts) are relatively more resilient compared to others, probably because of their long evolutionary history and the presence of a variety of climatic and hydrological conditions. However, high-emission scenarios in specific sub-basins, in addition to acidification impacts, could reduce this resilience, decreasing both habitat extent and ecosystem function dramatically. Overall, due to the higher observed and projected rates of climate change in the Mediterranean, compared to global trends, for variables such as seawater temperature and pH, marine ecosystems (particularly coastal) are projected to be under higher risks compared to the global ocean.

The degree of coupling between canopy and atmosphere, through the decoupling factor Ω, well describes the behaviour of a crop concerning its water use and carbon dioxide exchange. Super high-density hedgerow olive orchard system is in great expansion all over the world and, since it has a complex field structure in rows of adjacent trees, investigations are necessary to assess the Ω patterns, as well as aerodynamic (ga) and canopy (gc) conductances in different water conditions. In this study, in a hedgerow olive orchard (cv. “Arbosana”) submitted to full (FI) and regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), cropped under a Mediterranean semi-arid climate (southern Italy), Ω has been determined using gc, as deduced by inverting the Penman-Monteith equation, and ga, by upscaling the wind speed measured in a close station to the canopy; the transpiration has been measured by sap flow thermal dissipation method. The results showed that this olive orchard results very well coupled to the atmosphere, in any soil water conditions; Ω is generally very low, being during daytime equal in mean to 0.021±0.003 ms-1 and 0.018±0.004 ms-1 for RDI and FI, respectively. This condition is linked to ga and gc values; in fact, canopy conductance is much smaller than the aerodynamic one in any water and climatic conditions, except when all canopy surfaces are saturated in water. In this latter case, the gc assumes the highest values due to the contribution of the part of conductance attributable to the structure of the orchard.

This study aimed to determine the change in micromorphological characteristics depending on the species and the climate conditions in some landscape plants grown in areas with different climate conditions. For this purpose, leaf samples of five different woody species from the areas dominated by continental, Black Sea and Mediterranean climates were collected, and the scaled images of these samples were obtained via scanning electron. The stoma length, stoma width, pore length, pore width and stoma density were determined using the measurements conducted on these scaled images. The obtained data were evaluated statistically, and changes in these characteristics depending on the climate and the species were determined. The lowest values for all characteristics, except stoma density, were obtained in the terrestrial climate, whereas the highest values were obtained in plants grown in the Mediterranean climate. In terms of stoma density, the lowest value was obtained in plants grown in the Mediterranean climate, whereas the highest values were obtained in terms of other characteristics, and the highest value was obtained in plants grown in the terrestrial climate, whereas the lowest values were obtained in terms of other characteristics. However, when the changes depending on the species were examined, it was determined that different species react differently depending on the climate type.

Broccoli, (Brassica oleracea var. Italica), is generally recognized as a nutritive food rich in natural antioxidants, including vitamins and phenolics compounds. Phytochemical composition of 3 different purple sprouting broccoli varieties according with their production cycle: EEP (Extra Early), EP (Early), and LP (Late) were determined. The 3 cultivars tested were grown under the same conditions in an experimental field (SE Spain) where they were not previously cultivated since these cultivars are typical of cold, Northern-European areas. EP variety showed greater growth according to the photosynthetic rate and C assimilation. However, it was not possible to obtain inflorescences for variety LP. The health-promoting compounds (vitamin C, phenolic compounds, and glucosinolates) were higher in purple broccolis than in traditionally grown green broccolis and showed differences according to the variety. With respect to the use of broccoli byproducts as source of antioxidants, any variety would be suitable although the leaves of EP variety seems the richest in total phenolic acids, whereas the amount of anthocyanins was higher in LP variety, followed by EP and EEP varieties. Under our experimental conditions, the levels of glucosinolates were higher in purple broccoli than in green cultivars and also higher than other purple broccolis grown under different climate conditions. Therefore, the results reported data for production of the EEP and EP varieties in the Mediterranean climate with potential to obtain vegetables with improved nutritional quality. The results of this study reported data of the health-promoting nutrients and natural antioxidants of EEP, EP, and LP purple sprouting broccoli varieties grown under the Mediterranean climate. The vitamin C, phenolic compounds, and glucosinolates in these purple varieties were higher than in traditionally grown green broccolis and other purple broccolis grown under different climate conditions.

A methodology for model-based greenhouse design: Part 1, a greenhouse climate model for a broad range of designs and climates

Green roof energy performance is still a challenging topic, namely in a Mediterranean climate since it depends on building characteristics, roof type, and also on climatic conditions. This paper evaluates green roof buildings’ energy needs and use in a Mediterranean climate. An experimentally calibrated numerical model was used to perform a parametric analysis and identify the influence of key parameters in heating and cooling energy needs, as well as annual energy use. The vegetation height, the soil depth, and LAI (leaf area index) were identified as the key parameters. The irrigation levels were also crucial for the energy performance of green roofs, particularly during the summer period and in a Mediterranean climate. Heating energy needs were mainly associated with soil depth due to higher thermal resistance, whereas cooling energy needs depended mostly on LAI, which influenced evapotranspiration and shading effects. A reduction of soil depth from 1.0 m to 0.1 m increased winter energy needs by up to 140%, while low values of LAI increased cooling energy needs up to 365%. Annual energy use in a Mediterranean climate showed a higher dependence on soil depth, with oscillations of up to 115%, followed by LAI and vegetation height. Finally, irrigation levels impacted the annual energy use more significantly for lower watering flow rates. Reductions of about 500% were obtained when changing watering flowrates from 0 mm/day to 6 mm/day in intensive green roofs. Since green roofs with native species expect low values of watering, this may increase their cooling energy needs.

A system for the radiological protection of the environment (or wildlife) based on Reference Animals and Plants (RAPs) has been suggested by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). To assess whole-body activity concentrations for RAPs and the resultant internal dose rates, transfer parameters are required. However, transfer values specifically for the taxonomic families defined for the RAPs are often sparse and furthermore can be extremely site dependent. There is also a considerable geographical bias within available transfer data, with few data for Mediterranean ecosystems. In the present work, stable element concentrations (I, Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, P, S, K. Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Mo, Ag, Cd, Cs, Ba, Tl, Pb and U) in terrestrial RAPs, and the corresponding whole-body concentration ratios, CRwo, were determined in two different Mediterranean ecosystems: a Pinewood and a Dehesa (grassland with disperse tree cover). The RAPs considered in the Pinewood ecosystem were Pine Tree and Wild Grass; whereas in the Dehesa ecosystem those considered were Deer, Rat, Earthworm, Bee, Frog, Duck and Wild Grass. The CRwo values estimated from these data are compared to those reported in international compilations and databases.

ABSTRACTIn fire‐prone regions such as the Mediterranean biome, fire seasons are becoming longer, and fires are becoming more frequent and severe. Post‐fire recovery dynamics is a key component of ecosystem resilience and stability. Even though Mediterranean ecosystems can tolerate high exposure to extreme temperatures and recover from fire, changes in climate conditions and fire intensity or frequency might contribute to loss of ecosystem resilience and increase the potential for irreversible changes in vegetation communities. In this study, we assess the recovery rates of burned vegetation after recurrent fires across Mediterranean regions globally, based on remotely sensed Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data, a proxy for vegetation status, from 2001 to 2022. Recovery rates are quantified through a statistical model of EVI time‐series. This approach allows resolving recovery dynamics in time and space, overcoming the limitations of space‐for‐time approaches typically used to study recovery dynamics through remote sensing. We focus on pixels burning repeatedly over the study period and evaluate how fire severity, pre‐fire vegetation greenness, and post‐fire climate conditions modulate vegetation recovery rates of different vegetation types. We detect large contrasts between recovery rates, mostly explained by regional differences in vegetation type. Particularly, needle‐leaved forests tend to recover faster following the second event, contrasting with shrublands that tend to recover faster from the first event. Our results also show that fire severity can promote a faster recovery across forested ecosystems. An important modulating role of pre‐fire fuel conditions on fire severity is also detected, with pixels with higher EVI before the fire resulting in stronger relative greenness loss. In addition, post‐fire climate conditions, particularly air temperature and precipitation, were found to modulate recovery speed across all regions, highlighting how direct impacts of fire can compound with impacts from climate anomalies in time and likely destabilise ecosystems under changing climate conditions.

This work compares the performance of vertical subsurface flow treatment wetlands (VSSF TWs) for wastewater treatment, planted with Zantedeschia aethiopica (Za), here operated simultaneously under two different climate conditions, arid and Mediterranean. The experimental setup was divided into two treatment lines for each climate condition: three VSSF TWs planted with Schoenplectus californicus (Sc) (VSSF-S), as the control, and three VSSF TWs planted with Zantedeschia aethiopica (Za) (VSSF-Z), as the experimental unit. The four treatment systems were operated at a hydraulic loading rate of 120 mm/d during spring and summer seasons, in two locations, Iquique (Atacama Desert, Chile) and Talca (Central Valley, Chile). The water quality in effluents, plant development, and water balance were used as performance measures. In terms of the water quality, the influents’ characteristics were similar in both climates and classified as “diluted”. For the effluents, in both climate conditions, average COD and TSS effluent concentrations were below 50 mg/L and 15 mg/L, respectively. In both climate conditions, average TN and TP effluent concentrations were below 40 mg/L and 2 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, only total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in effluents to VSSF-Z had a significant effect (p < 0.05) in relation to the climate condition. Regarding plant development, Za showed a lower height growth in both climate conditions, with arid consistently 0.3 m and Mediterranean decreasing from 0.6 m to 0.2 m. However, the physiological conditions of the leaves (measured by chlorophyll content) were not affected during operation time in both climates. Water balance showed that it was not influenced by the climate conditions or plant, with water loss differences below 5%. Therefore, taking into account the water quality and water balance results, Zantedeschia aethiopica can be used in VSSF TWs in a way similar to traditional plants under arid and Mediterranean climates. However, its use has to be carefully considered because lower height could affect the esthetics for its implementation in the VSSF TWs.

Buildings in rural areas are more exposed to open weather conditions than city centres and, therefore, need to be designed to be more energy efficient. This study systematically investigates the sensitivity of critical building design parameters (building orientation, insulation thickness, glazing properties, shading, and ventilation type) on the heating and cooling energy demand of a rural building in a Mediterranean climate. This study also aims to determine optimum energy-efficient building design conditions in the Mediterranean climate. Thermal simulations were performed using the IESVE tool in a typical two-storey Mediterranean house designed in rural İzmir, Turkey. It was found that critical design parameters such as solar orientation, insulation thickness, glazing properties, shading, and ventilation type affect heating and cooling energy demand. Orientation of the building to the South, 23.5 cm insulation thickness, triple glazing windows, and shading provide maximum energy savings. In addition, South orientation or a deviation of 22.5° from the South, 15 cm insulation thickness, double-glazed windows, and shading ensure significant energy savings and acceptable energy performance in the Mediterranean climate. However, no significant difference in energy performance was found depending on ventilation type (mechanical or mixed mode (natural + mechanical)). The results of this study can promote energy-efficient building design at the local level and help architects design new energy-efficient buildings in the Mediterranean countryside. This study can also contribute to creating energy-efficient building design policies to reduce buildings’ dependence on fossil fuels.

اقلیم، وضعیتی کلی از شرایط هوای غالب یک مکان مشخص بر اساس آمار بلندمدت است. تنوع عناصر اقلیمی در تعیین اقلیم یک ناحیه مؤثر بوده و باعث شکل‌گیری اقلیم‌های متنوع و متفاوت می‌شود. افزایش انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای و به دنبال آن تغییرات اقلیمی و گرمایش جهانی پیامدهای بسیاری برای کره زمین داشته است. ازجمله‌ این پیامدها، بخصوص برای مناطقی که در کمربند گرم و خشک دنیا قرار گرفته‌اند، افزایش سطح پوشش اقلیم خشک و نیمه‌خشک است. در‌ این مطالعه طبقه‌بندی اقلیمی کوپن برای کشور ‌ایران در سال 1975 با طبقه‌بندی حاصل از خروجی مدل جوی-اقیانوسی MIROC برای سال‌های 2030، 2050، 2080 و 2100، تحت 2 سناریوی A1B و A2، که در گزارش چهارم IPCC آمده، مقایسه شده است. طبقه‌بندی‌های حاصل از خروجی مدل روند رو به رشد اقلیم گروه B که نماینده اقلیم خشک و نیمه‌خشک در طبقه‌بندی کوپن است و کاهش تنوع اقلیمی را نشان می‌دهند. همان‌طور که در نقشه‌ها ملاحظه می‌شود و بر اساس وسعت تحت پوشش ‌این نوع اقلیم طی سال‌های آتی، افزایش اقلیم Bwh که آب‌وهوای گرم و خشک را نشان می‌دهد، به‌وضوح قابل مشاهده است. ‌این افزایش به‌گونه‌ای است که در سال 2100، شاهد پوشش بیش از 95 درصد مساحت کشور توسط ‌این اقلیم بر اساس هر دو سناریو هستیم. همچنین وسعت و تنوع مناطق تحت پوشش اقلیم معتدل (اقلیم گروه C) و اقلیم سرد (اقلیم گروه D ) در کشور به کمتر از یک درصد مساحت کشور خواهد رسید.

Models for estimating daily photosynthetically active radiation in oceanic and mediterranean climates and their improvement by site adaptation techniques

Litter decomposition in Mediterranean ecosystems: Modelling the controlling role of climatic conditions and litter quality

ABSTRACTAim To understand how vegetation mediates the interplay between fire and climate. Specifically, we predict that neither the switching of climatic conditions to high flammability nor the sensitivity of fire to such conditions are universal, but rather depend on fuel (vegetation) structure, which in turn changes with productivity.Location An aridity/productivity gradient on the Iberian Peninsula (Mediterranean Basin).Methods We defined 13 regions distributed along an aridity gradient, which thus differ in productivity and fuel structure. We then assessed the changes in the temporal fire–climate relationship across regions. Specifically, for each region we estimated three variables: the aridity level for switching to flammable conditions (i.e. climatic conditions conducive to fire), the frequency of these flammable conditions and the area burnt under such conditions. These variables were then related to regional aridity and fuel structure indicators.Results In mediterranean ecosystems, the aridity level for switching to flammable conditions increased along the aridity gradient. Differences in fire activity between regions were not explained by the frequency of flammable conditions but by the sensitivity of fire to such conditions, which was higher in wetter and more productive regions.Main conclusions Under mediterranean climatic conditions, fuel structure is more relevant in driving fire activity than the frequency of climatic conditions conducive to fire. At a global scale, fuel also drives the fire–climate relationship because it determines the climatic (aridity) threshold for switching to flammable conditions. Our results emphasize the role of landscape structure in shaping current and future fire–climate relationships at a regional scale, and suggest that future changes in the fire regime (i.e. under global warming) might be different from what it is predicted by climate alone.

Evaporation from surface water plays a crucial role in water accounting of basins, water resource management, and irrigation systems management. As such, the simulation of evaporation with high accuracy is very important. In this study, two methods for simulating pan evaporation under different climatic conditions in Iran were developed. In the first method, six experimental relationships (linear, quadratic, and cubic, with two input combinations) were determined for Iran’s six climate types, inspired by a multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP-NN) neuron and optimized with the genetic algorithm. The best relationship of the six was selected for each climate type, and the results were presented in a three-dimensional graph. The best overall relationship obtained in the first method was used as the basic relationship in the second method, and climatic correction coefficients were determined for other climate types using the genetic algorithm optimization model. Finally, the accuracy of the two methods was validated using data from 32 synoptic weather stations throughout Iran. For the first method, error tolerance diagrams and statistical coefficients showed that a quadratic experimental relationship performed best under all climatic conditions. To simplify the method, two graphs were created based on the quadratic relationship for the different climate types, with the axes of the graphs showing relative humidity and temperature, and with pan evaporation, were drawn as contours. For the second method, the quadratic relationship for semi-dry conditions was selected as the basic relationship. The estimated climatic correction coefficients for other climate types lay between 0.8 and 1 for dry, semi-dry, semi-humid, Mediterranean climates, and between 0.4 and 0.6 for humid and very humid climates, indicating that one single relationship cannot be used to simulate pan evaporation for all climatic conditions in Iran. The validation results confirmed the accuracy of the two methods in simulating pan evaporation under different climatic conditions in Iran.