Increasing drought threatens Mediterranean forests. While structurally complex forests are proposed for climate adaptation, empirical evidence remains contradictory. We analysed drought resilience as a function of local competition in a mixed supramediterranean forest of Pinus nigra and Pinus sylvestris, evaluating the effects of species identity, competition intensity, neighbourhood composition, and tree diameter on secondary growth. Using tree-ring data and ARIMA models, we calculated classical resilience indices and cumulative impact metrics (including Growth Years Lost, GYL) for the 2005 and 2012 droughts. Responses differed between species and events; P. nigra was more resistant in 2005, whereas P. sylvestris performed better in the more severe 2012 drought. Species mixing acted as a species-specific buffer depending on the event. Local competition did not affect resistance but enhanced recovery, especially in P. sylvestris. Tree diameter strongly drove cumulative impacts: large trees suffered greater absolute growth losses, while small trees showed higher relative vulnerability (GYL). We show that traditional indices can mask key vulnerabilities, whereas cumulative metrics reveal hidden impacts across size classes. Overall, mixed-forest resilience is shaped by the interplay of species, size, and neighbourhood structure rather than stand composition alone. Our results challenge generalised density reduction as a universal adaptation strategy, suggesting that maintaining structural complexity while avoiding highly suppressed cohorts optimizes localised sheltering and ecosystem stability.
Automatising the process of verifying whether the design of a building conforms to a certain regulation is an important task to save time and money. This paper presents SmartNorms4BIM, a building regulatory compliance-checking system that facilitates the automatic evaluation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) models. The system’s architecture follows Eastman’s four stages: translation of norms into a machine-readable format, BIM model preparation, execution of the verification process, and report generation. Our proposal uses Semantic Web technologies (OWL 2 ontologies and semantic reasoners) to represent the knowledge and detect violations of the norms automatically, Large Language Models (LLMs) to interpret and transform building norms into OWL 2 ontologies, fuzzy logic to manage vagueness in the norms, and specific algorithms to reason with geometric knowledge. A Java desktop prototype was developed to determine whether a BIM model complies with a given set of norms. To validate our approach, two real-world use cases were studied.
Engineering efficient interfaces within electrode architectures is critical for improving charge-transfer processes and electrocatalytic performance in alkaline water electrolysis. Herein, a hierarchical MXene-based hybrid electrode was developed by integrating high-entropy alloy nanoparticles (HEA NPs, Fe-Cr-Co-Mn-Pt), synthesized via sputter gas aggregation source (SGAS), onto either delaminated or multilayer Ti3C2Tx MXene supported on nickel foam (NF). The SGAS technique enables precise control over nanoparticle composition, size, and dispersion, while providing ligand-free nanoparticle surfaces and direct integration onto the MXene layer. The resulting NF@MXene/HEA architecture structure combines the highly conductive MXene network, the catalytic activity of HEA nanoparticles, and the porous framework of NF, thereby enabling efficient electron transport and interfacial charge transfer. Controlled surface oxidation induces Ti(OH)x/TiO2 species, which enhance structural stability and increase the electrochemically active surface area. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy highlights the key role of MXene interfacial layer in reducing impedance and promoting charge transport within the hierarchical . As a result, the optimized electrode achieves an overpotential of 270 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for OER and stable operation for 10 h in alkaline media. These results demonstrate that SGAS-enabled integration of HEA nanoparticles onto MXene platforms provides an effective strategy for tailoring interfacial properties within hierarchical electrocatalytic architectures.
Topographic heterogeneity strongly shapes tree growth in oceanic island forests by modulating local microclimatic conditions and buffering climatic stress. However, climate warming threatens this buffering capacity by increasing atmospheric evaporative demand and intensifying drought constraints. We combined tree-ring chronologies, high-resolution dendrometer measurements, stable carbon isotope (δ¹³C) analyses, and Vaganov–Shashkin (VS) model simulations to investigate Pinus canariensis growth dynamics across a topoclimatic gradient spanning contrasting slope aspects and elevations. North-facing stands maintained comparatively stable growth under more favourable hydrological conditions and exhibited higher drought resistance and resilience than south-facing stands. In contrast, south-facing stands showed stronger moisture limitation and long-term growth declines, greater drought sensitivity, higher interannual growth variability, increasingly negative growth trends, and sustained years-long stem water deficits lasting nearly two years. VS simulations indicated that temperature primarily controls growth onset, whereas soil moisture increasingly regulates growth duration and continuity, particularly on south-facing slopes, where water availability is lower and evaporative stress is greater. Intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) increased over time across all stands, with a steeper increase on south-facing slopes, where it was also associated with declining growth. Our results demonstrate that fine-scale topoclimatic heterogeneity shapes drought limitation in P. canariensis forests, with slope aspect emerging as a major driver of differences in growth and drought resilience. By combining long-term growth records with physiological indicators and process-based simulations, this study provides a multi-proxy assessment of drought vulnerability that can help identify exposed stands for targeted monitoring and support adaptive conservation and forest management in these endemic island ecosystems.
This study investigates two burial-related remagnetizations in the Jaca-Pamplona foreland basin (Southern Pyrenees): one with dual polarity and a positive reversals test, and another with only reverse polarity. These components, labeled C3 and C4 based on their mean unblocking temperatures, were identified from a paleomagnetic analysis of 142 sites in Eocene turbidites of the Hecho Group. Component C3 shows unblocking temperatures of 250 degrees C-350 degrees C, systematic reverse polarity, and a predominantly post-folding timing. Component C4 exhibits unblocking temperatures of 250 degrees C-550 degrees C, dual polarity and a mainly syn-to postfolding acquisition. The spatial distribution of C4 polarity defines WNW-ESE bands parallel to structures and younging southward. The acquisition of C4 is interpreted as a chemical remagnetization triggered by progressive burial driven by combined sedimentary and tectonic loading that increased temperatures (up to similar to 250 degrees C in the deeper northern sectors, according to previous paleotemperature studies). This thermal evolution promoted authigenic, stable single-domain magnetite growth, beginning during the Lutetian (chron C20) and probably ending in the Rupelian (chrons C11-C10) as uplift and exhumation progressed. In contrast, the reverse polarity and post-folding behavior of component C3 suggest a mixed origin involving both chemical remagnetization and a thermoviscous overprint during the long chron C12r (Rupelian), contemporaneous with the youngest reverse C4 band and preceding the final exhumation of the basin. These findings highlight the complex interplay among tectonics, sedimentation, and chemical remagnetization processes in the South Pyrenean foreland, providing new insight into the timing and kinetics of remagnetization in fold-and-thrust belts.
