## 4 Discussion
### Effects of Soil Temperature and Soil Water on Soil CO\({}_{2}\) Efflux  
The response of soil respiration to microclimatic conditions has not been consistent across all ranges because there are multiple confounding factors in different seasons [62; 63]. In our research, the temperature sensitivity of respiration decreased under colder, wet conditions (winter and autumn), suggesting that seasonality is explained by the soil temperature without water limitations, in the temperate-growing season (spring), or when the effect of soil water was confounded (annual data). On the contrary, soil moisture was found to be significant when it is a limiting factor for soil. It is known that, for ecosystems without drought stress, soil temperature is the most important factor in determining the seasonal variation of soil respiration [41]. However, soil respiration, like other physiological processes of plants, usually responds to the most limiting factor [64], and soil moisture can become a limiting factor, especially as temperature and evaporative demand increase [14]. Especially in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, soil water can be the major factor that limits respiration sensitivity to temperature, particularly in summer [53]. In this sense, previous authors have shown that soil temperature is the main driver of soil respiration under high soil moisture conditions (above 15%), whereas under low levels, the soil water content becomes a better predictor [41; 54]. In accordance with [PERSON] et al. [65], soil respiration was shown to have a decreasing sensitivity to temperature in response to drought. In this semi-arid climate, high soil temperatures coincide with low moisture availability (except for spring 2018), thus confounding the effects of temperature and soil water on soil CO\({}_{2}\) efflux.  
However, our study also reflects the joint effect of high soil temperatures with very high soil moisture content (>25%) in a growing season (spring 2018). Under these microclimatic conditions, the highest respiration rates in both sites were recorded. The inherent interannual variability of the Mediterranean climate also determined differences in soil respiration and their relationships with graphics conditions, for the same season between years, and mainly in the spring. Previous studies have also found that the relationship between CO\({}_{2}\) efflux and microclimatic conditions depends on the magnitude of soil moisture, for example above 15% was the better predictor of the total soil respiration [54]. Some researches fixed the optimal soil moisture content for total soil respiration within a range of 15-20% [66]. Other studies showed that maximum soil respiration occurred when the soil moisture content reached the field capacity, for example 31% in beech [67]. In this sense, we hypothesize that when junipers have high levels of available soil water under warm temperatures, soil respiration could be acceleretal, as cited by [PERSON] et al. [54] in other mediterranean forests. These conditions would also be favorable to increase microbial activity [68; 69].  
Finally, the global Q\({}_{10}\) of total soil respiration calculated for the two juniper sites fell within the range of 1.0-5.0 [70] reported for European and North-American forest ecosystems. However, in connection with the soil efflux rates measured, the Q\({}_{10}\) value was low compared with those reported foriferous forest [70]. The Q\({}_{10}\) quotient may vary depending on the season, growth rate, or acclimatization situation [10; 71]. Based on our results (when data were analyzed throughout all seasons), the Q\({}_{10}\) coefficient in juniper woodlands also depends on the site. Thus, we conclude that soil respiration rates also vary within the same species as a function of ecological requirements (for example soil quality), i.e., productivity, as has been cited for respiration at the stem level [44; 72].