The Mediterranean basin is considered a hotspot of biological diversity with a long history of modification of natural ecosystems by human activities, and is one of the regions that will face extensive changes in climate. For 181 terrestrial mammals (68% of all Mediterranean mammals), we used an ensemble forecasting approach to model the future (approx. 2100) potential distribution under climat...

The Mediterranean climate prevailing on the coastal belt of the Mediterranean Sea undergoes to change toward the inner part of the Anatolia in accordance with the increase of altitude, mountain range barriers, the tectonic structure of the region, and tectonic-karstic depressions. Continentality also plays a critical role in the micro-climates that prevail across the various eco-regions. This s...

Greece is located between parallels 340 and 420 of the Northern Hemisphere. It is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, bordering the eastern Mediterranean. The country covers an area of about 131,000 km, the coastline of which extends to 13,676 km and it corresponds to half of the total Mediterranean coastline. The Greek islands are estimated a...

The warm-temperate regions of the globe characterized by dry summers and wet winters (Mediterranean climate; MED) are especially vulnerable to climate change. The potential impact on water resources, ecosystems and human livelihood requires a detailed picture of the future changes in this unique climate zone. Here we apply a probabilistic approach to quantitatively address how and why the geogr...

Mediterranean climate is found on five continents and supports five global biodiversity hotspots. Based on combined downscaled results from 23 atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) for three emissions scenarios, we determined the projected spatial shifts in the mediterranean climate extent (MCE) over the next century. Although most AOGCMs project a moderate expansion in the globa...

The precipitation climatology and the underlying climate mechanisms of the eastern Mediterranean, West Asia, and the Indian subcontinent are reviewed, with emphasis on upper and middle tropospheric flow in the subtropics and its steering of precipitation. Holocene climate change of the region is summarized from proxy records. The Indian monsoon weakened during the Holocene over its northernmost...

1 Both ®re regimes and the conditions under which ®res occur vary widely. Abiotic conditions (such as climate) in combination with ®re season, frequency and intensity could in ̄uence vegetation responses to ®re. A variety of adaptations facilitate post-®re recruitment in mediterranean climate ecosystems, but responses of other communities are less well known. We evaluated the importance of clima...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate differences in the short-term relationship between weather conditions and the incidence of hip fracture in people aged 65 and over among two regions of Spain. METHODS Hip fracture incidence was calculated for the years 2000-2008 for residents of Health Area 14 in Valencian Community (Mediterranean climate) and the "Mancha Centro" Health Area in Castilla-La Mancha (inland...

This study examines the change in current 100year hydrological drought frequencies in the Mediterranean in comparison to the 2070s as simulated by the global model WaterGAP. The analysis considers socio-economic and climate changes as indicated by the IPCC scenarios A2 and B2 and the global general circulation model ECHAM4. Under these conditions today’s 100-year drought is estimated to occur 1...