Recent findings suggest that global warming is altering the timing of trees' phenological activities, including earlier emergence from winter dormancy. While early‐season warming can boost carbon uptake, tree growth does not seem to benefit. The underlying mechanisms and the altered intra‐ and inter‐annual growth dynamics, as well as their interaction with environmental factors, remain poorly understood. We analysed daily‐reso...

Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) is a common European tree species, and understanding its acclimation to the rapidly changing climate through physiological, biochemical or structural adjustments is vital for predicting future growth. We investigated a long‐term irrigation experiment at a naturally dry forest in Switzerland, comparing Scots pine trees that have been continuously irrigated for 17 years ( irrigated ) with those...

Unprecedented tree dieback across Central Europe caused by recent global change‐type drought events highlights the need for a better mechanistic understanding of drought‐induced tree mortality. Although numerous physiological risk factors have been identified, the importance of two principal mechanisms, hydraulic failure and carbon starvation, is still debated. It further remains largely unresolved how the local neighborhood c...

Radial stem growth dynamics at seasonal resolution are essential to understand how forests respond to climate change. We studied daily radial growth of 160 individuals of seven temperate tree species at 47 sites across Switzerland over 8 years. Growth of all species peaked in the early part of the growth season and commenced shortly before the summer solstice, but with species‐specific seasonal patterns. Day length set a windo...

Extreme droughts are expected to increase in frequency and severity in many regions of the world, threatening multiple ecosystem services provided by forests. Effective strategies to adapt forests to such droughts require comprehensive information on the effects and importance of the factors influencing forest resistance and resilience. We used a unique combination of inventory and dendrochronological data from a long‐term (>3...