Abstract In temperate regions, the analysis of climate signals encoded in the wood rings allows assessing tree sensitivity to climate and its potential effects on growth and yield. In Mediterranean regions, the cork oak (Quercus suber L.) has received limited attention for dendrochronological studies because tree rings are faint and cork rings with a clear annual banding have been rather neglected. We analyzed the climatic signal of cork-ring chronologies for AD 1996–2010 from distinct regions in western Algeria [a mountain oak forest called Hafir-Zarieffet] and in southern Portugal [a peneplain wood-pasture called Benavente]. The goal was to evaluate the strength and consistency of climate signal and to assess cork growth sensitivity to climate variables (precipitation and temperature). Our results suggest that cork growth encodes a climatic signal. Trends of cork growth, via correlation analysis, including climate variables (on a monthly and seasonal basis) and Lang's index (on an annual basis) were successfully assessed. Drought-driven cork growth reduction is a threshold function of a P-T ratio, and with expected increase in the drought occurrence under changing climate, cork growth is likely to be similarly affected in both regions.

中文翻译：

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软木环年表中的气候信号：葡萄牙西南部和阿尔及利亚西北部的案例研究

摘要 在温带地区，对木年轮中编码的气候信号的分析可以评估树木对气候的敏感性及其对生长和产量的潜在影响。在地中海地区，软木橡树（Quercus suber L.）在树木年代学研究中受到的关注有限，因为树木年轮微弱，而具有明显年度条纹的软木年轮却被忽视了。我们分析了公元 1996 年至 2010 年来自阿尔及利亚西部不同地区（名为 Hafir-Zarieffet 的山地橡树林）和葡萄牙南部 [名为 Benavente 的平原森林牧场] 的软木环年表的气候信号。目标是评估气候信号的强度和一致性，并评估软木生长对气候变量（降水和温度）的敏感性。我们的结果表明，软木塞的生长编码了气候信号。通过相关分析，成功评估了软木生长趋势，包括气候变量（每月和季节性）和朗指数（每年）。干旱导致的软木生长减少是 PT 比率的阈值函数，随着气候变化下干旱发生率的预期增加，两个地区的软木生长可能会受到类似的影响。