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Aim Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystems serve as reference laboratories for the investigation of global change because of their transitional climate, the high spatiotemporal variability of their environmental conditions, a rich and unique biodiversity and a wide range of socio-economic conditions. As scientific development and environmental pressures increase, it is increasingly necessary to evaluate recent progress and to challenge research priorities in the face of global change. Location Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystems.Methods This article revisits the research priorities proposed in a 1998 assessment.Results A new set of research priorities is proposed: (1) to establish the role of the landscape mosaic on fire-spread; (2) to further research the combined effect of different drivers on pest expansion; (3) to address the interaction between drivers of global change and recent forest management practices; (4) to obtain more realistic information on the impacts of global change and ecosystem services; (5) to assess forest mortality events associated with climatic extremes; (6) to focus global change research on identifying and managing vulnerable areas; (7) to use the functional traits concept to study resilience after disturbance; (8) to study the relationship between genotypic and phenotypic diversity as a source of forest resilience; (9) to understand the balance between C storage and water resources; (10) to analyse the interplay between landscape-scale processes and biodiversity conservation; (11) to refine models by including interactions between drivers and socio-economic contexts; (12) to understand forest-atmosphere feedbacks; (13) to represent key mechanisms linking plant hydraulics with landscape hydrology.Main conclusions (1) The interactive nature of different global change drivers remains poorly understood. (2) There is a critical need for the rapid development of regional-and global-scale models that are more tightly connected with largescale experiments, data networks and management practice. (3) More attention should be directed to drought-related forest decline and the current relevance of historical land use.

Characterizing the responses of key tree species to extreme climatic events may provide important information for predicting future forest responses to increased climatic variability. Here we aimed at determining which tree- and stand-level attributes were more closely associated with the effect of a severe drought on the radial growth of Scots pine, both in terms of immediate impact and recovery after the drought event. Our dataset included tree-ring series from 393 plots located close to the dry limit of the species range. Time series analysis and mixed-effects models were used to study the growth of each tree and its detailed response to a severe drought event that occurred in 1986. Our results showed that the radial growth responses of Scots pine were determined primarily by tree-level characteristics, such as age and previous growth rate, and secondarily by stand basal area and species richness, whereas local climate had a relatively minor effect. Fast-growing trees were more severely affected by the drought and retained proportionally lower growth rates up to three years after the episode. In absolute terms, however, fast-growing trees performed better both during and after the event. Older trees were found to be less resilient to drought. The effect of stand basal area and species richness indicated that competition for resources worsened the effects of drought, and suggested that the effect of interspecific competition may be particularly detrimental during the drought year.