# Vegetation Productivity Losses Linked to Mediterranean Hot and Dry Events
## 3 Results
### Seasonal Productivity Disturbances  
Seasonal Impacts  
Reductions in gross productivity caused by the events of 2005 in IB, 2007 in EM and 2003 in WE are depicted in Figure 3. Related to the other study cases, the same information is represented in Figure A2. The annual productivity balance, computed for the stressed vegetation during each of the analysed extreme events and the two following years, is described in Table 3.  
The relationships between GPP and SM and between GPP and LST during the extreme event year, are depicted in Figure 4 for the extreme events of 2005 in IB, 2007 in EM and 2003 in WE. The same results are illustrated in Figure A3 for the study cases of 2012 in IB, 2003 in EM and 2006 in WE. In IB, the values of cumulative GPP across the stressed pixels during 2005 were below the 25-75% variability range (Figure 3a, top panel). GPP started departing from the long-term 25% tile during the winter months, which coincided with a departure of SM from the long-term median during these months (Figure 4b, left panel). The soil moisture stress was exacerbated in the spring, presenting high deficits from March to May, contributing to the reduction in GPP that reached anomalies nearly \(-\)0.04 kg C/m\({}^{2}\)/month in May and June. LST values above the historical median were also registered during this period (Figure 4a, left panel) and were stronger during the summer months, reaching more than +3 \({}^{\circ}\)C compared with the historical median in July and August. The disturbances of GPP, mainly caused by soil water stress and high temperatures, induced noticeable annual losses of productivity that reached a departure of \(\sim\)47 TgC/year from historical median values (Table 3). After 2005, cumulative annual productivity remained below average but within the 25-75% range in 2006 and registered above-average values in 2007 (Figure 3a,b, left panels, respectively). However, the disturbances were not compensated by the high activity of vegetation in 2007, as the balance of the three-year period (2005-2007) showed a remarkable GPP departure from the median of around \(-\)41 TgC/year (Table 3). The results of the 2012 episode describe GPP cumulative values below the 25 th percentile of affected pixels, mainly due to the productivity deficits which occurred during the spring and early summer (Figure A2, left panel). The seasonal cycle of the pair [SM-GPP] describes remarkable SM deficits of more than \(-\)0.05 m\({}^{3}\)/m\({}^{3}\) in February and March (Figure A3, left panel) and large stress conditions on vegetation in April, May and June, as reflected in negative GPP anomalies (\(\sim\)\(-\)0.025 kg C/m\({}^{2}\)/month), described in Figure A2 (left panel). In EM, the impacts of the 2003 episode on vegetation are expressed in a monthly cumulative GPP below the 25-75% variability range of affected pixels from March/April until the end of the year (Figure A2, central panel). SM deficits occurred during late winter and early spring, whereas LST values were higher than the historical median (about +3 \({}^{\circ}\)C) in May and June (Figure A3, central panel), resulting in a productivity decrease in the spring and amplified in the summer months. Negative GPP average anomalies reached about \(-\)0.03 kg C/m\({}^{2}\)/month in JJA (Figure A2, central panel), contributing to a large annual productivity loss of \(-\)21.12 TgC/year. GPP started to recover in the subsequent months, as shown by the annual accumulations of GPP close to the historical median in 2004 and 2005 (Figure A2, central panel). The 2007 extreme event differs from the 2003 one in that the take-off of the negative anomalies at the regional scale occurred only during late spring, and the previous spring months are characterized by a monthly cumulative GPP above the long-term 75% tile and average anomalies reaching +0.032 kg C/m\({}^{2}\)/month in April (Figure 3a,b, central panels).