4. Discussion
4.1. EVI_mean response to climate factors
Mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual temperature
(MAT), both with a relatively narrow range across meteorological
stations (210e368 mm, and 15e19 C, respectively) were not
included as main effects to explain the spatial patterns of EVI_mean
(Table 2). Even though, the interaction between them and
with lithology revealed the clear effect of climate on drylands
primary production. The positive interaction between MAP and
MAT (highest partial R2, Table 2) in the first LMM revealed that, on
average, wetter sites that were simultaneously warmer, were also
greener. In wetter sites, greater inputs of rainfall may compensate
for the higher temperatures and subsequent greater evapotranspiration
rates. In addition, MAP also raised EVI_mean through
its positive interaction with lithology, which reinforces the role of
precipitation as an important control of EVI in drylands (Table 2).