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. Mediterranean ecosystems are hotspots for climate change, as thehighest impacts are forecasted for the Mediterranean region, mainly by morefrequent and intense severe droughts. Plant phenology is a good indicator ofspecies' responses to climate change. In this study, we compared the springphenology of cork oak trees (Quercus suber), an evergreen species,over 2 contrasting years, a mild year (2004) and a dry year (2005), whichwas the most severe drought since records exist. We evaluated the timing ofoccurrence, duration, and intensity of bud development, budburst, shootelongation, trunk growth, and leaf senescence (phenophases) and assessed thenitrogen resorption efficiency from senescent to green leaves. Thetemperature was the main driver of budburst. Nevertheless, water had the mainrole of constraining all the other phenophases by strongly reducing the growingseason length (−48 %) and consequently the tree growth. Basal areaincrement was the most affected growth variable (−36 %), althoughit occurred at a similar rate in the 2 years. Shoot elongation was alsoreduced (−21 %), yet elongation occurred at a higher rate in the dryyear compared to the mild year. Leaf senescence during the bulk period was higherin the dry year, in which leaves were shed at the same rate over a longerperiod. Nitrogen concentrations in green and senescent leaves were affectedby drought and nitrogen resorption efficiency increased remarkably(+22 %). Our results highlight the importance of studying differentphenological metrics to improve our understanding of the ecosystem's responsesto climate change. The faster dynamics observed in shoot elongation, whileall other phenophases developed at the same rate, indicate that leaf areadevelopment is privileged in cork oak. Water availability was the main driverof spring growth in this Mediterranean ecosystem; however, growth may beaffected by complex interplays between precipitation and temperature, such ashigher temperatures during dry winters or heatwaves during spring, that arelikely to result in water stress. Longer studies are needed to disentanglethose interplays. Finally, a higher nitrogen resorption efficiency inresponse to drought appears to be an adaptive trait that mitigates thelimitation in nitrogen uptake by the roots during drought and contributes toimproving tree fitness in the short term but will probably exert a negativefeedback on the nitrogen cycle in the long term, which might affect theecosystem functioning under the forecasted droughts.

Drought reduces tree growing season length but increases nitrogen resorption efficiency in a Mediterranean ecosystem