The main purpose of the project was to analyse whether site productivity has changed in European forests during the last decades. While several forest growth studies have been published at local, regional and national levels, this project has aimed at stimulating a joint effort in identifying and quantifying possible growth trends and their spatial and temporal extent at the European level. From a methodological point of view, the leading idea in the project has been to utilise existing research plots and data from many countries to increase the empirical base and validity of the analysis. 44 scientists from 12 countries have contributed to the project.
The results of this project have been published in EFI Research Report 5 (Spiecker, H., Mielikäinen, K., Köhl, M., Skovsgaard, J.P. (Eds.) 1996. Growth Trends in European Forests - Studies from 12 Countries.)