Long-term growth decline not reflected in crown condition of beech

European beech, which is the dominating deciduous tree species in large parts of Central Europe, suffered from the 2018-2020 drought. Amongst others, losses in crown vitality were observed. Interestingly, crown condition of individual trees within stands was found to differ strongly from non-/weakly damaged (referred to as vital) to severely damaged/dead (non-vital) trees. To check whether similar differences in tree-growth behavior exist, and whether differences in crown condition are genetically driven, a dendroecological and forest genetic study was performed in nine hotspots of beech decline in Germany. Results are now published by Ernst van der Maaten and co-workers in Forest Ecology and Management. Long-term growth decline was found irrespective of crown condition, and no consistent differences between non-/vital trees were detected in growth and genetic parameters. Overall, the study highlights that crown condition after an extreme drought is a poorer indicator of tree vitality than ring width in beech.