Díaz Martínez, PalomaRuiz Benito, PalomaMadrigal González, JaimeGazol, AntonioAndivia Muñoz, Enrique2025-12-012025-12-012023-01Díaz‐Martínez, P., Ruiz‐Benito, P., Madrigal‐González, J., Gazol, A., & Andivia, E. (2023). Positive effects of warming do not compensate growth reduction due to increased aridity in Mediterranean mixed forests. Ecosphere, 14(1), e4380. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.438010.1002/ecs2.4380https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/128245Funding We acknowledge the support of grants PID2019-110470RA-100 (ADAPTAMIX) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, DARE (MICINN, RTI2018-096884-B-C32), FUNDIVER (MINECO, CGL2015-69186-C2-2-R), and REMEDINAL-TE (Community of Madrid, S2018/EMT-4338). Paloma Díaz-Martínez was supported by a Predoctoral grant funded by the Spanish Ministry of “Educación y Formación Profesional” (FPU17/02949). Paloma Ruiz-Benito was supported by the Community of Madrid Region under the framework of the multiyear agreement with the University of Alcalá (Stimulus to Excellence for Permanent University Professors, EPU-INV/2020/010).Increased winter and early spring temperatures due to climate change can enhance forest productivity due to earlier growth onset in temperate regions. However, drought-prone forests can be highly vulnerable to the combined effect of high summer temperatures and water stress. Understanding how water stress and rising temperatures along the growing season control tree growth in co-occurring species with contrasting drought tolerances is key to project climate change effects on forest dynamics. Here, we evaluated the interactive effect of seasonal temperature and water availability on annual radial growth and climate–growth instability over six decades (1951–2015) in three pine species with contrasting drought tolerances (Pinus pinaster, Pinus nigra, and Pinus sylvestris). For this, we retrospectively observed radial tree growth using dendroecological methods and evaluated seasonal temperature and water availability effects by using linear mixed models. Early growing season temperature and water availability had a positive effect on tree growth, but the positive effect of late season temperature was modulated by water availability. Moving time-window analyses revealed temporal instability in climate–growth relationships. Since the 1980s, pine species showed a higher growth sensitivity to both seasonal temperatures and annual water availability. Furthermore, growth reductions were more pronounced due to increased summer temperatures and reduced precipitation. Our results were similar for the three studied pine species despite their contrasting tolerance to drought. Overall, climate warming effects on pine growth are contingent upon water availability in Mediterranean continental forests. Synchronization among species, climate–growth instability, and negative growth trends suggests an increased vulnerability to drought of Mediterranean pine species in response to ongoing climate change.engAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/journal article2150-8925https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4380https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.4380open access574.3582.475551.577.38Basal area incrementClimate changeClimate-growth instabilityDendroecologyDroughtEarly growing season temperatureTree ringsEcología (Biología)Medio ambiente natural2417.13 Ecología Vegetal2502.03 Bioclimatología