Disentangling the effect of competition, CO2 and climate on intrinsic water-use efficiency and tree growth

1. Climate change scenarios forecast rising temperatures for the Mediterranean region, which could enhance vulnerability to drought stress in forest ecosystems. The long-term effects of climate forcing on tree performance can be, however, modulated by other environmental factors, such as competition and rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. 2. We assessed the concomitant effect of competition, climate and CO2 concentrations on the tree-ring δ13C-derived intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) and basal area increments (BAI) of species with different drought tolerance: two Mediterranean deciduous species (Quercus faginea Lam. and Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) and one conifer (Pinus sylvestris L.). Additionally, given that competition may be managed to mitigate the effect of increasing drought stress, we further examined the influence of this variable on iWUE and growth using data compiled from the literature, providing the first review on the response of iWUE to competition. 3. Competition ha...