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Key message Juglans, Fraxinus, Quercus  and  Pinus  species seem to better maximize the carbon–water ratio providing useful indications on species selection for forestry plantations in areas with increasing drought risk. Maximizing carbon sequestration for a given water budget is extremely important in the contest of climate change in the Mediterranean region, which is characterized by increasing temperatures and rising water stress. This issue is fundamental for plantation stands, where limited water availability during the growing season reduces CO 2  assimilation and, consequently, tree growth. In this study, the main objective was to investigate the performances in terms of carbon–water balance of conifer ( Pinus halepensis  and  Cupressus semperviren s) and hardwood ( Quercus robur, Juglans regia, Fraxinus excelsior  and  Populus  spp.) mixed plantations. To this aim, we used carbon isotope signatures to evaluate the intrinsic water-use efficiency ( iWUE)  and the species-specific relationship between basal area increments ( BAI ) and  iWUE . At the species level, the highest  iWUE  values corresponded to the lowest carbon accumulation in terms of  BAI,  for water-saving species such as  Cupressus . Conversely,  Populus  had the lowest  iWUE  and the highest  BAI  accumulation.  Juglans, Fraxinus,  and  Pinus  showed the most balanced ratio between  BAI  and  iWUE . Overall, no clear correlation of  iWUE  and  BAI  was evident within all species, except for  Populus  and  Cupressus.  Considering projected aridification and increased temperatures that will negatively impact the growth, our data suggest that  Pinus,  for conifers, and  Quercus, Juglans, Fraxinus  for hardwood species should be preferred when choosing species for forestry plantation, as they performed better in terms of BAI and  iWUE  ratio.

Evaluating growth and intrinsic water-use efficiency in hardwood and conifer mixed plantations