Sánchez-Dávila et al. (2026) Recent water cycle changes in Spanish forests are driven by stand structure more than climatic changes

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Environmental Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-02-25
• Authors: Jesús Sánchez-Dávila, Miquel De Cáceres, Jordi Vayreda, J. Retana
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.129070

Research Groups

• CREAF, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Valles, Spain
• Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Valles, Spain

Short Summary

This study modeled the Spanish forest water cycle from 1990 to 2020 to assess the relative impacts of climate change and forest stand structure on green and blue water. It found that changes in stand structure, particularly leaf area index growth, had a stronger influence on the water cycle than climatic changes, leading to increased green water and decreased blue water.

Objective

• To assess the relative influence of climate change and forest stand structure changes on the green and blue water components of the water cycle in Spanish forests, and to compare these changes across forest types and management regimes.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Regional (Spanish forests), with analysis conducted at the plot level.
• Temporal Scale: 1990–2020 (30 years), using three national inventory surveys.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not explicitly named, but a modeling approach based on national forest inventories was employed to simulate the water cycle.
• Data sources: National forest inventories of Spain (1990–2020).

Main Results

• Green water (evapotranspiration) increased and blue water (runoff + drainage) decreased in Spanish forests over the study period.
• Leaf Area Index (LAI) growth (trees and shrubs) had a stronger effect on green water increases than climatic changes.
• LAI growth, coupled with recent precipitation declines (2010–2020), significantly contributed to the reduction in blue water.
• Basal area reduction improved blue water yield, but this effect was observed to be short-to-mid-term as stand LAI tended to recover over time.

Contributions

• Quantifies the relative importance of forest stand structure changes versus climatic changes on the forest water cycle at a regional scale, demonstrating that stand structure can be equally or more influential.
• Provides evidence that forest management practices, specifically basal area reduction, can enhance blue water production, offering a potential strategy for water resource management if reductions are substantial and maintained.

Funding

• Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Citation

@article{SánchezDávila2026Recent,
  author = {Sánchez-Dávila, Jesús and Cáceres, Miquel De and Vayreda, Jordi and Retana, J.},
  title = {Recent water cycle changes in Spanish forests are driven by stand structure more than climatic changes},
  journal = {Journal of Environmental Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.129070},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.129070}
}