Mediterranean Climate

This paper aims to address the importance of the Mediterranean setting for the study of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. A region’s climatic pattern and geological conditions are important in the formation of its religion and history of longue durée (Fernand Braudel). Unfortunately, the twentieth-century western scholarship of the Hebrew Bible has ignored these natural elements in their study of the religious and historical texts, as Theodore Hiebert (1996/2007) has concluded. In this article, I demonstrate that the climatic and geological setting of the East Mediterranean, or the Levant, is crucial to interpreting the Hebrew Bible in multi-dimensions.
For this purpose, the paper discusses the following exemplary Mediterranean religions and Hebrew Bible passages that illustrate the usefulness of reading the Hebrew Bible in the context of a Mediterranean setting. (1) The Ba‘alu cycle and Demeter myth of Israel’s neighbors demonstrate that climatic patterns played important roles in myth-making in the Mediterranean regions. (2) The Föhn effect in Israel creates different environmental settings between the west and the east of the central hills. The Föhn wind causes the east parts to be arid and without rain. However, grasses grow, and flowers blossom in the wilderness of the rainy season thanks to rainfall flowing down from the central hills. Dramatic changes in the Judean wilderness landscape caused by flowing water (wadi) might have inspired some eschatological visionaries (Isaiah 35:6-7; 43:19-20). (3) The Fall feast or the feast of Booths played a central role in Israel’s religion. It was celebrated not only in memory of wilderness life (Leviticus 23:33-43) but also for the restoration of the rainy season in the Fall (Psalm 126). Jeroboam’s reform of the calendar (1 Kings 12:31-33) was understood as apostasy by the Deuteronomistic historian. However, it should have been understood as an insertion of a leap month to adjust to the difference between the lunar calendar (roughly 355 days) and the actual seasons based on the solar calendar (365 days). (4) The Book of Amos and Psalm 46 can be understood better in light of a tectonic earthquake (ca. 750 BCE). This earthquake of 7.8-8.2 magnitude probably occurred north of the kingdom of Israel, or today’s Lebanon (Austin-Franz-Frost 2000) and devastated many anti-Assyrian coalition countries. The epicenter’s location and estimated magnitude are very helpful when analyzing historical mysteries, such as the rapid decline of the northern kingdom after Jeroboam II’s most glorious period, or how the Assyrian king was able to conquer enemies through short Blitzkrieg, how weaker Judah survived longer than stronger Israel, and so on.
These case-studies above could motivate Hebrew Bible researchers to pay greater attention to the Eastern Mediterranean’s environmental and geographical setting.

In the present Collective Article information on 26 taxa belonging to 8 Phyla and extended from the western Mediterranean to the Levantine Sea are presented. The new records were found in 9 countries as follows: Spain: first record for the Mediterranean of the crab Cancer bellianus; Algeria: further records of the alien fish Lagocephalus sceleratus to the west Algerian waters; Italy: first report on the presence and establishment of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in Lessina and Varano Lagoons (W. Adriatic) and of Penaeus aztecus in Corigliano Gulf (Italian Ionian). Moreover, the extension of the distribution range of the polychaete Branchiomma bairdi to W. Sicily as well as that of the crab Ocypode cursor and the bryozoan Catenicella paradoxa to E. Sicily are cited. Slovenia: the record of the rare saccoglossan gastropod Placida cremoniana from Piran (Gulf of Trieste) is the first for the Adriatic; Greece: the native sea slug Eubranchus farrani is the first from the Eastern Medite...

The use of hedgerows as corridors for forest vascular species has been widely studied, but only in humid oceanic and continental climates; no replicated trials have ever been performed on corridor function. Given these premises, a study was done on the eastern Po Plain, in a transition area between the Temperate (Eurosiberian) and Mediterranean climatic zones, adopting the same sample shape and dimensions as a North-American study [Corbit et al. (1999) J Ecol 87:220–232]. The following research questions were posed: (1) how common are forest species in hedgerows? (2) do origin, isolation, distance from source, width and adjacent land-use factors correlate with the frequency of forest species? (3) are hedgerows corridors for forest species? To address these, three functional types of hedgerows, identified by comparing old aerial-photos, were sampled: remnant attached (n = 12) and remnant isolated (n = 6) with respect to the nearest woodland and regenerated attached (n = 4). If wooded patches were a source for hedgerows, then regenerated hedgerows should be more similar to an adjacent woodland than an isolated remnant. A 900 m2 circular plot in woodlands and an adjacent 90-m transect along hedgerows were sampled for the presence and cover of all plant species, then 39 woodland taxa were selected. Significant differences between the three hedgerow types emerged in forest species richness, but not in cover. The forest species composition in both remnant and regenerated attached hedgerows showed a strong affinity with the adjacent stand, implying a dispersal process from woodland (source) to regenerated hedgerows (sink). A distance effect on forest species distribution clearly linked to a corridor function was found only in regenerated hedgerows, while in the remnant attached ones, even with a composition similar to that of the nearest woodland source, other additional factors cannot be ignored to explain the fine scale distribution of forest species. The cover of the most common ant-dispersed species showed a similar distance effect while vertebrate-dispersed ones did not show any significant trend with distance from woodlands. Habitat suitability for forest species was affected by width, especially in hedges wider than 12 m, but not by adjacent land use.

Citation for published version (APA): Alberti, M. E., Aravantinos, V., Fappas, I., Papadaki, A., Rougemont, F., Andersson Strand, E., ... Cutler, J. (2015). Textile tools from Thebes, mainland Greece. In E. Andersson Strand, & M-L. Nosch (Eds.), Tools, Textiles and Contexts: Investigating Textile Production in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age (pp. 279-292). Oxbow Books. ancient textiles series, Vol.. 21

The analysis of the relationships between landscape visual quality and landscape structural properties is an active area of environmental perception research. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between landscape spatial pattern and the rating of visual aesthetic quality. Eight landscape photographs were evaluated for 11 visual attributes by 98 respondents. The scores obtained for these 11 attributes were subjected to principal components analysis in order to summarize the qualities used by the respondents and thus determine their visual preferences. For each photograph, three window sizes were defined (with respect to a landcover map) to cover the different areas corresponding to the visual field (foreground, mid-ground and background). The landscape spatial structure for each window was analyzed using spatial metrics. The correlation between each dimension and the spatial pattern indices of the landscape were then calculated. Positive correlations were obtained...

Following aquarium releases, invasive lionfishes have colonized large areas of the Caribbean and western Atlantic, resulting in an immense ecological damage. The early stages of that invasion are poorly known. Indeed, a lag of time between the introduction and detection often preclude genetic characterization of that crucial phase. With elevated awareness, the recent invasion of Pterois miles was quickly detected in the Mediterranean Sea. We hereby show that the very first individuals establishing populations in the Mediterranean Sea display haplotypes that nest within the large genetic diversity of Red Sea individuals, thus indicating an invasion via the Suez Canal. We also show that only two haplotypes are detected in the Mediterranean Sea, suggesting that few individuals may have been involved in the invasion. Thus, we conclude that the Mediterranean invasion is the result of a movement of individuals from the Red Sea, rather than from other means, and that low genetic diversity ...

SUMMARY - It is nowadays widely accepted that the increasing concentration of the so-called greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is altering the Earth's radiation balance and causing the temperature to rise. This process in turn provides the context for a chain of events which leads to changes in the different components of the hydrological cycle, such as evapotranspiration rate, intensity

Olive has been widely grown around the Mediterranean Basin for around 5000 years, where productivity and survival of this long-lived evergreen tree in environments of low and variable rainfall depend on physiological characteristics but also on management. The tree exercises effective control of water loss by transpiration and can also withstand intense internal water deficit that in turn increases extraction of water from soil. Critical aspects of management that maintain, albeit limited, transpiration and metabolic activity during hot dry summer months, are directed at both crop and understorey. Strategic decisions are selection of cultivar, tree density, and canopy size, together with surface management as tilled soil or as cover crop of selected species. Tactical adjustments are seen in extra pruning of olives and timing of tillage, or of grazing, mowing, or herbicides to restrict growth and water use of the understorey, especially following dry winters and during dry summers. S...

Olive has been widely grown around the Mediterranean Basin for around 5000 years, where productivity and survival of this long-lived evergreen tree in environments of low and variable rainfall depend on physiological characteristics but also on management. The tree exercises effective control of water loss by transpiration and can also withstand intense internal water deficit that in turn increases extraction of water from soil. Critical aspects of management that maintain, albeit limited, transpiration and metabolic activity during hot dry summer months, are directed at both crop and understorey. Strategic decisions are selection of cultivar, tree density, and canopy size, together with surface management as tilled soil or as cover crop of selected species. Tactical adjustments are seen in extra pruning of olives and timing of tillage, or of grazing, mowing, or herbicides to restrict growth and water use of the understorey, especially following dry winters and during dry summers. S...

Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, and Hg were measured successively in water, sediments, and six macroalgal species belonging to three algal classes during 3 years (2008-2010) from Abu Qir Bay, Alexandria, Egypt: Chlorophyceae (Enteromorpha compressa, Ulva fasciata), Phaeophyceae (Padina boryana), and Rhodophyceae (Jania rubens, Hypnea musciformis, Pterocladia capillacea). The study aimed to assess the bioaccumulation potential of the seaweeds, as well as to evaluate the extent of heavy metal contamination in the selected study site. Metals were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry coupled with MH-10 hydride system. The obtained data showed that the highest mean concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn were recorded in E. compressa; Cd, Ni, and Hg exhibited their highest mean concentrations in P. boryana, while Pb and Co were found in J. rubens. Abundance of the heavy metals in the algal species was as follow: Fe > Mn > Zn > Pb > Ni > Co >...

This paper analyses the observed spatiotemporal characteristics of drought phenomenon in Syria using the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Temporal variability of drought is calculated for various time scales (3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months) for 20 weather stations over the 1961-2012 period. The spatial patterns of drought were identified by applying a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to the SPI and SPEI values at different time scales. The results revealed three heterogeneous and spatially well-defined regions with different temporal evolution of droughts: 1) Northeastern (inland desert); 2) Southern (mountainous landscape); 3) Northwestern (Mediterranean coast). The evolutionary characteristics of drought during 1961-2012 were analysed including spatial and temporal variability of SPI and SPEI, the frequency distribution, and the drought duration. The results of the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test applied to the SPI and SPEI series indicate prevailing significant negative trends (drought) at all stations. Both drought indices have been correlated both on spatial and temporal scales and they are highly comparable, especially, over a 12 and 24 month accumulation period. We concluded that the temporal and spatial characteristics of the SPI and SPEI can be used for developing a drought intensity-areal extent-and frequency curve that assesses the variability of regional droughts in Syria. The analysis of both indices suggests that all three regions had a severe drought in the 1990s, which had never been observed before in the country. Furthermore, the 2007-2010 drought was the driest period in the instrumental record, happening just before the onset of the recent conflict in Syria.

During the second half of the 20th century farming systems in hilly and mountainous areas of Mediterranean Europe were progressively abandoned and the forest cover subsequently re-expanded. This paper investigates the environmental impacts of land-use/land-cover (LULC) changes on hydrological ecosystem functions (HEFs) in the Upper Alento River Catchment (UARC) in southern Italy. We document the human-driven post-war landscape in 1955 with its maximum expansion of pasture and crops. By 1998 forest cover had doubled and cropland had roughly halved due to decades of land abandonment and reduction in human pressure. In 2015 secondary forests occupied about 70% of the catchment and orchards about 20%. The 1998 land-use scenario was implemented within the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) model which was calibrated and validated by direct water yield measurements recorded in the period 1995-2004 in the water reservoir delimited by an earth-dam located at the UARC outlet. Numerical simulations, assumed under “steady” climate conditions, offer “pseudo-realistic” scenarios that help interpret differences in water budget and sediment transport when the 1998 land-use scenario is compared to those of 1955 and 2015. With reference to funding opportunities offered by the European Union in the recent decades, this study provides some practical guidance on the impact of cropland reconversion on HEFs and on measures to mitigate soil erosion in this Mediterranean area. Viewed from the demand-side perspective, natural re-expansion of forest and afforestation reduce water yield and increase actual evapotranspiration. However, our modeling results are framed also within a supply-side approach examining the sensitivity of water yield to precipitation characteristics.

... climatic conditions Ana Meijide & Laura M. Cárdenas & Laura Sánchez-Martín & Antonio Vallejo Received: 7 December 2008 /Accepted: 15 July 2009 /Published online: 1 August 2009 © Springer Science+Business Media BV 2009 ... 2000; Chantigny et al. 2001). Mondini et al. ...

This study analyzes the determinants of Turkish agricultural exports to the European Union (EU) by estimating the gravity model for the panel of 23 trading partners in the EU covering the period 1996-2004. We find that Turkish agricultural exports to the EU are positively correlated with the size of the economy, the importer population, the Turkish population living in the EU countries, the non-Mediterranean climatic environment, and the membership to the EU-Turkey Customs Union Agreement while they are negatively correlated with agricultural arable land of the EU countries and geographical distance between Turkey and the EU countries. This paper was presented at the 18th International Conference of the International Trade and Finance Association, May 22, 2008, meeting at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.Keywords: Gravity model, panel data, Turkish agricultural exports, the EU. JEL Classification: C23, F14.

Erratum to: Irrig Sci (2010) 28:497–509 DOI 10.1007/s00271-010-0210-zFollowing publication of the paper, the authors have detected a calculation error in the calibration of the FAO56 Penman–Monteith method used for estimating greenhouse reference evapotranspiration (ETo). There is an error in the value of aerodynamic resistance (ra) presented in the paper.While a standard value of 150 s m−1 was reported for the aerodynamic resistance (ra) in the paper, we found subsequently that the correct value of ra, that provides the best agreement between estimated and measured daily greenhouse ETo values, as determined by minimizing the root mean square error (RMSE) with the SOLVER procedure (Microsoft® Excel 2002), is 295 s m−1. Measured ETo data from 1993 and 1994 (without whitening), and from 2000 and 2001 (with whitening) were used for model calibration. With a fixed ra value of 295 s m−1, the FAO56 Penman–Monteith method was validated using measured ETo values from 1995, 1997 and 1999 (witho

Monumental olive trees, with their longevity and their remarkable size, represent an important information source for the comprehension of the territory where they grow and the human societies that have kept them through time. Across the centuries, olive trees are the only cultivated plants that tell the story of Mediterranean landscapes. The same as stone monuments, these green monuments represent a real Mediterranean natural and cultural heritage. The aim of this paper is to discuss the value of monumental trees as “biocultural heritage” elements and the role they play in the interpretation of the historical stratification of the landscape. We present the results of a survey of the most significant olive trees growing in Sicily. The selection was based on the “monumentality” aspects of trees, taking into account dendrometric parameters and environmental contexts. The collected dataset constitutes a heterogeneous sample of 367 specimens of considerable size that, in some cases, rea...

The paper aims at updating and clarifying some aspects relevant to the analysis and classi cation of the so-called ‘Mediterranean’ or ‘Pre-Indo-European’ heritage of southeast Europe v. the Indo-European, Uralic and Altaic idioms, sometimes analyzed in the context of ‘Nostratic’ or ‘Proto-Boreal’ or ‘Euro-Asiatic’ idioms, a tendency, which seems to have been predominant in the linguistic studies of the last decades. Keywords: Euro-Asiatic, Indo-European, Nostratic, Mediterranean, Neolithic Revolution, Proto-Boreal, Uralic.