Multifunctionality of Iberian forests in the face of climate change
- Autores: Ginés Rodríguez Castilla
- Directores de la Tesis: Rafael Villar Montero (dir. tes.), José Luis Quero Pérez (dir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universidad de Córdoba (ESP) ( España ) en 2026
- Idioma: inglés
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Lourens Poorter (presid.), R. Hernández Clemente (secret.), Milena Holmgren (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Recursos Naturales y Gestión Sostenible
- Menciones:
- Internacional
- Calificación: Sobresaliente Cum Laude
- Materias:
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- Resumen
This doctoral thesis examines increasing aridity in Mediterranean forests across the Iberian Peninsula and its effects on ecosystem functioning. These forests are crucial for regulating ecological processes, yet the combined influence of aridity, soil properties, and plant functional traits remains insufficiently understood. The main goal is to assess how aridity impacts multiple ecosystem functions and levels of ecological organization. The research follows two complementary approaches. First, it analyzes large-scale patterns across the Iberian Peninsula, evaluating how environmental gradients affect primary productivity (functional traits, biomass, and forest productivity) and secondary productivity (interactions with herbivores and pathogens), as well as overall ecosystem multifunctionality. Second, it focuses on a regional case study in southern Iberia, examining arthropod diversity and the functioning of Pinus halepensis forests under different aridity levels. The study combines data from the Spanish National Forest Inventory with field sampling in four forest types dominated by Pinus halepensis, Pinus pinaster, Quercus faginea, and Quercus ilex. It measures plant functional traits, forest structure, soil properties, herbivory, pathogen damage, and arthropod diversity. Advanced statistical methods, including structural equation modeling, are used to analyze interactions among climatic, soil, and biotic factors. Results identify aridity as a key driver of forest functioning. At the individual level, plants adopt more conservative strategies under water limitation, though biomass has a stronger effect on growth. At broader scales, aridity reduces forest productivity and biomass, limiting carbon uptake, while soil properties influence forest structure. Aridity also affects biotic interactions: it increases browsing by ungulates, reduces insect herbivory, and shows no clear pattern for pathogens. Additionally, higher aridity negatively impacts regeneration, shrub cover, and arthropod richness, leading to a decline in ecosystem multifunctionality. At the regional scale, arthropod diversity decreases with aridity depending on forest type. In Pinus halepensis forests, aridity reduces productivity, biomass, regeneration, and biodiversity, although some factors like soil fertility remain stable. Overall, the thesis shows that aridity effects are complex and context dependent, shaped by interactions among climate, soil, and species. These findings are key for predicting forest responses to climate change and informing adaptive management strategies.
