Decoupling of soil nutrient cycles as a function of aridity in global drylands.

The biogeochemical cycles of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are interlinked by primary production, respiration and decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. It has been suggested that the C, N and P cycles could become uncoupled under rapid climate change because of the different degrees of control exerted on the supply of these elements by biological and geochemical processes. Climatic controls on biogeochemical cycles are particularly relevant in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid ecosystems (drylands) because their biological activity is mainly driven by water availability.

Description of Paravulvus moroccanus sp. n. (Nematoda, Dorylaimida, Nygolaimidae) from the High Atlas Mountains, Morocco, with notes on the taxonomy of the genus.

Paravulvus moroccanus sp. n., collected in the Moroccan eastern High Atlas, is described and illustrated.

Phenological and water-use patterns underlying maximum growing season length at the highest elevations: implications under climate change.

Consequences of climate change on tree phenology are readily observable, but little is known about the variations in phenological sensitivity to drought between populations within a species. In this study, we compare the phenological sensitivity to temperature and water availability in Abies pinsapo Boiss., a drought-sensitive Mediterranean fir, across its altitudinal distribution gradient.

Stand-structural effects on Heterobasidion abietinum-related mortality following drought events in Abies pinsapo.

Climate change may affect tree-pathogen interactions. This possibility has important implications for drought-prone forests, where stand dynamics and disease pathogenicity are especially sensitive to climatic stress. In addition, stand structural attributes including density-dependent tree-to-tree competition may modulate the stands' resistance to drought events and pathogen outbreaks.