Wildfires are a dominant ecological disturbance in Mediterranean ecosystems, yet how post-fire aboveground carbon dynamics and vegetation characteristics govern soil organic carbon stock (SOC) remains poorly understood. This study characterized the d...
An outbreak species exhibits extreme, rapid population fluctuations that can be qualified as discrete events within a continuous dynamic. When outbreaks occur they may appear novel and disconcerting because the limiting factors of their dynamics are...
The characterisation of functional-trait dynamics of vegetation from remotely sensed data complements the structural characterisation of ecosystems. In this study we characterised for the first time the spatial heterogeneity of the intra-annual dynam...
To manage multiple ecosystem services (ES) effectively, it is essential to understand how the dynamics of ES maintain healthy ecosystems to avoid potential negative impacts on human well-being in the context of sustainable development. In particular,...
Short-duration rainfall extremes in Mediterranean regions are frequently produced by convective storms that concentrate most precipitation within narrow temporal windows. Standard Depth–Duration–Frequency (DDF) and Intensity–Duratio...
Double tropopauses are recurrent features of the extratropical upper-troposphere–lower-stratosphere (UTLS), but their climatology and long-term evolution over the Mediterranean region remain poorly characterized. Here, ERA5 pressure-level data...
This paper examines how logistics performance conditions the relationship between trade openness, economic growth and per capita CO2 emissions in Mediterranean economies. Using an unbalanced panel of 20 countries over the period 2007–2022, we c...
Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is the fraction of the Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) mainly absorbing UV and blue radiation, influencing water optical properties, light availability for primary production, and water-leaving radiance. In...
This study uses satellite altimeter data from the new AVISO dataset to investigate the coupling between sea level variability in the Sicily Channel and the Ionian Sea. The dataset spans the last three decades (1993–2024) and provides high spati...
Rainfed Mediterranean agriculture is characterized by low water input and by soil water content below its field capacity during most of the year. However, erratic rainfall distribution can lead to deep drainage. The understanding of soil-water dynami...
The forest ecosystems of large Mediterranean islands are critical hubs of evolutionary diversity with unique floristic composition and distinctive vegetation patterns reflecting long-term population dynamics and ecological legacies. Mediterranean isl...
Rangelands are a key resource present all over the world and cover half of all emerged lands. They are even more important in drylands, where they cover 48% of the total area. Their intensification and the additional pressure added by climate change...
Alcyonium coralloides has traditionally been classified as an opportunistic epibiont of exposed gorgonian skeletons. However, the ecological nature of its interaction remains poorly understood. Using Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) monitor...
The invasion history of the gastropod mollusk Bursatella leachii in the Mediterranean Sea demonstrates a dynamic progression through distinct phases, comprising arrival, establishment, and expansion phases. Initial records in the 1930s trace its entr...
Cassiopea andromeda is an invasive alien jellyfish that is increasingly reported across the Mediterranean Sea, yet its invasion dynamics and ecological implications remain poorly understood. This study provides an updated assessment of its spatial an...
Accurate evaluation of grapevine water use is essential for optimizing water management and maximizing grapevine yield and berry quality in Mediterranean climates. Understanding the water and heat flux dynamics in a vineyard during grapevine berry ma...
The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann 1824; Diptera, Tephritidae), is considered one of the most important pests, infesting more than 300 species of fresh fruit and vegetables worldwide. The medfly is an important invasi...
Nowadays, the Mediterranean freshwater systems face the threat of water scarcity, along with multiple other stressors (e.g., organic and inorganic contamination, geomorphological alterations, invasive species), leading to the impairment of their ecos...
In recent decades, climate change has significantly influenced the frequency and intensity of wildfires across Mediterranean pine forests. The loss of forest cover can bring long-term ecological changes that impact the overall biodiversity and alter...
Climate-related production variability and increasing market uncertainty pose significant challenges for Mediterranean olive systems. This study examines the long-term production dynamics, market vulnerability, and ecological functions of Mediterrane...
River mouths are highly dynamic environments responding very rapidly to changes in wave energy or river floods. While the morphological response during floods or during marine storm events has been widely documented in the literature, little is known...
This study investigates the salinization processes affecting the coastal aquifer within the Torre Guaceto State Nature Reserve, a Mediterranean coastal area characterized by a unique ecological value of a brackish wetland threatened by water-intensiv...
In Mediterranean regions and other areas with variable climates, interannual weather variability may impact ecosystem dynamics, and by extension ecological restoration projects. Conditions at reference sites, which are often used to evaluate restorat...
Olive reproductive phenology depends on the balance between winter chilling and subsequent heat accumulation, yet multi-environment Mediterranean observations to assess this dynamic across thermal regimes remain scarce. We monitored Full Budburst (FB...
This study examines the evolution, structure, and dynamic and thermodynamic mechanisms of a Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone (TLC), or medicane (from Mediterranean–Hurricane), that occurred in the central Mediterranean region from 15 to 19 S...
Recirculation technology has been emerging in the marine aquaculture industry. The microbiome developed in recirculation aquaculture systems (RASs) is an important factor for the optimal operation of these systems and fish welfare. In this study, the...
Understanding soil respiration (Rs) dynamics in Mediterranean olive groves is crucial for quantifying carbon fluxes under climate change. Soil respiration represents the combined CO2 efflux from root metabolic activity and microbial decomposition of...
Temporary Mediterranean wetlands are characterized by both intra and interannual variations in their environmental conditions. These inherent fluctuations in limnological features affect the seasonal variation in the structure and dynamics of the aqu...
Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) is one of the most valuable shellfish resources in the Mediterranean and the northeast Atlantic. Sustainable management of its fishery require long-term scientific monitoring of its stocks. Population dynamics, fi...
The Vaccarès Lagoon System, located in the central part of the Rhône Delta (France), is a complex shallow coastal lagoon, exposed to a typical Mediterranean climate and a specific hydrological regime affected by man-controlled exchanges with the sea...
Vegetation index time-series analysis of multitemporal satellite data is widely used to study vegetation dynamics in the present climate change era. This paper proposes a systematic methodology to predict the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (N...
Urban settlements have globally expanded into rural land. Being influenced by complex socio-environmental dynamics and sometimes acting as a reserve of economic value, fallow land has characterized rural areas in a distinctive way over the last decad...
Small-scale fisheries (SSFs) in the Mediterranean and Black seas play a significant social and economic role, representing 84% of the fishing fleet (70,000 vessels), 26% of total revenue (USD 633 million) and 60% of total employment (150,000 people),...
Mediterranean agricultural systems are highly vulnerable to increased climatic variability, which threatens soil water availability and the functionality of the soil carbon (C) cycle. Soil management practices strongly influence water dynamics and C-...
The agroecological transition represents a key challenge for Mediterranean agricultural systems affected by demographic decline, agricultural contraction, land abandonment, and production reorganisation. This study analyses rural-landscape transforma...
Use of solid agricultural digestate as a substitute for chemical fertilizers in Mediterranean cropping systems can be a valuable approach to improving soil fertility. However, it is important to accurately assess its mineralisation dynamics in order...
Bottom trawling in submarine canyons can affect their sedimentary dynamics, but studies addressing this topic are still scarce. In the Gulf of Palermo (NW Sicily, SW Mediterranean Sea), bottom trawling occurs on the continental slope, but principally...
Fish secondary production integrates multiple demographic parameters, including population density, growth, mortality, and recruitment, and thereby provides a comprehensive measure of ecological performance. It is also a valuable tool for assessing t...
Fire is an ecological and disturbance factor with a significant historical role in shaping the landscape of fire-prone environments. Despite the large amount of literature regarding post-fire vegetation dynamics, the north-east Mediterranean region i...
Marginal areas in economically advanced countries are a critical issue that European and national policies have been addressing for some time. These areas are affected by depopulation, infrastructural gaps and labor systems that do not reach the corr...
Specific functional traits such as shade tolerance or leaf habits can enhance root growth dynamics and structure of planted seedlings in the understory of planted forests. We assessed how low and moderate light levels (17 and 33% of full sunlight, mi...
This study investigated the population dynamics, growth, reproduction, and parasitism of Penaeus aztecus over a 27-month period in Antalya Bay (Eastern Mediterranean). P. aztecus was the most abundant shrimp species, comprising 53.4% of the collected...
While urbanization has been closely related to economic development and demographic change, heterogeneous patterns and processes of regional growth and change reflect the uneven distribution of urbanization, the subtle impact of demographic dynamics...
This study investigates the dynamics of the development phases of a Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone (medicane) in the southern Ionian Sea, on 28 September 2018 that caused high impact phenomena in the central and eastern Mediterranean, focusing o...
This study analyzes 1980–2020 landings data from three Mediterranean coastal lagoons—the Logarou and Rodia-Tsoukalio Lagoons (NW Greece) and the Mar Menor Lagoon (SE Spain)—to assess ecosystem changes and fishing pressure dynamics....
Mediterranean-type ecosystems (METs) occur on five continents and represent some of the most climatically constrained yet biologically rich regions on Earth. In these environments, legumes and their nitrogen-fixing rhizobial symbionts—including...
Among the most debated environmental effects of global warming is sea level rise, whose consequences are believed to exert a large influence on vast coastal areas in the next decades and hence contribute to determining near-future societal developmen...
For the first time in the bay of Annaba (Southern Mediterranean), we studied the spatiotemporal distribution of potentially toxic benthic dinoflagellates: Ostreopsis cf. ovata, Prorocentrum lima, Coolia monotis, and Amphidinium carterae, hosted by th...
Mediterranean coastal lagoons and their peripheral areas often provide a collection of habitats for many species, and they often face significant threats from anthropogenic activities. Diverse human activities in such areas directly affect the spatio...
Mediterranean islands contain heterogeneous landscapes, resulting from the complex interactions between natural and anthropogenic processes, and have significant ecological and conservation importance. They are vulnerable systems to global change and...
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