Impacts of drought at different time scales on forest growth across a wide climatic gradient in north-eastern Spain

► The impact of drought on growth varied noticeably among species and sites. ► Species growing in xeric sites highly responded to SPI time-scales of 9-11 months. ► Species growing in mesic sites responded more to SPI time scales < 5 months. ► The variability to drought is attributed to species characteristics and local conditions.