Silvicultural thinning can be used to adapt forest canopies to dry conditions, yet little is known about how post-thinning canopy reorganization varies with thinning intensity and climatic aridity. We applied a Leaf Area Organization (LAO) framework to quantify how thinning affects Leaf Area Index (LAI) partitioning and dynamics in two mature Aleppo pine forests spanning an arid (Yatir Forest, AI approximate to 0.14) to semi-arid (HaKedoshim Forest, AI approximate to 0.24) climatic gradient. Using Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 imagery calibrated against field measurements, we derived annual (2017-2022) estimates of LAI(Overstory), LAI(Understory), LAI(Ecosystem), and growing space occupancy (GSO = LAI(Ecosystem)/LAI(Max)) in plots thinned in 2009 at different intensities (light: 14%, moderate: 43-45%, intense: 72-82%, and clearcut: 100%). Thinning reduced LAI(Overstory) and LAI(Ecosystem), but triggered an increase in LAI(Understory). Inter-annual LAO trends differed between sites and thinning treatments. At the semi-arid site, LAIOverstory declined in the control and moderate thinning treatments, whereas LAIUnderstory increased under the intense thinning and clearcut treatments. In the arid site, no significant inter-annual trends were detected. Consequently, LAI(Ecosystem) and GSO followed LAI(Understory). Using these relationships, we developed an approach to calculate the extent of thinning required to compensate for a 25% reduction in annual precipitation. Incorporating a 20% safety margin (GSO = 80%), the calculation suggests that similar to 50% of the trees should be removed in both forests. This work provides a quantitative framework for adapting dryland forests to future climatic changes and informs thinning strategies to enhance forest resilience under increasing aridity.