Recently, many studies worldwide tapped tree ring pattern for detection of growth events and trends caused by weather extremes and climate change. As long-term experiments with permanent survey of all trees are rare, growth trend analyses are mostly based on retrospective measurements of growth via increment coring or stem analyses of the remaining individual trees in older forest stands. However, the growth of the survivor trees in older stands may only unsufficiently represent the course of growth of the dominant trees throughout the stand development. Here, the more than 100 years survey data of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) thinning experiment Fabrikschleichach in South Germany are used to show the long-term changes in social ranking of trees and their consequences for growth trend detection by retrospective tree ring analyses, for stand dynamics and silvicultural management. Firstly, a significant social upwards drift of initially medium-sized trees till 2010 is shown based on the trees' percentiles in the stem diameter distribution in 1904 versus 2010. The social climbing is stronger on the thinned compared to the unthinned plots. Secondly, we show that 40–60% of the 100 tallest trees in 1904 were replaced by social climbers and down-ranked below the 100 tallest trees till 2010. Linear mixed model analyses reveal that the long-term trend of the diameter growth of the 100 dominant survivors in 2010 was on average by 23% steeper than the trend of the 100 tallest starters in 1904. This indicates that the survivors had a steeper and longer lasting growth than the originally dominant trees. Thirdly, the diameter growth trend in the last 20 years, from 1990 to 2010, is analyzed in dependency on the current and past social position. A linear model shows that early subdominance or suppression can significantly steepen the growth trend a century later and vice versa.

Finally, we discuss the implications of the social drift for the survivor-based growth trend analyses, for the stand dynamics, and silvicultural management.

最近，世界范围内的许多研究都在挖掘年轮的模式，以检测由极端天气和气候变化引起的生长事件和趋势。由于对所有树木进行永久性调查的长期实验很少见，因此，生长趋势分析主要基于通过增量取心或对老龄林分中其余树木的茎分析进行的回顾性生长测量。但是，较老林分中幸存树的生长可能不足以代表整个林分发育过程中优势树的生长过程。这里是欧洲山毛榉（Fagus sylvatica） 100多年的调查数据L.）间伐试验位于德国南部的Fabrikschleichach用于显示树木的社会等级的长期变化，以及树木的树木回顾性分析，林分动态和造林管理对树木生长趋势检测的后果。首先，根据1904年与2010年的茎直径分布中树木的百分位数，可以看出直到2010年，最初的中型树木的社会向上漂移显着。与未稀疏的地块相比，稀疏地带的社会爬坡作用更强。其次，我们显示出1904年最高的100棵树木中有40％至60％被社交攀岩者所取代，并在2010年之前排名低于最高的100棵树木。线性混合模型分析显示，2010年100个主要存活者的直径增长的长期趋势平均比1904年最高的100个起动器的直径增长陡峭23％。这表明存活者的陡峭和更长。比原本的优势树更持久。第三，根据当前和过去的社会地位分析了过去20年（从1990年到2010年）的直径增长趋势。线性模型显示，早期主导或压制可以大大抑制一个世纪后的增长趋势，反之亦然。根据当前和过去的社会地位进行分析。线性模型显示，早期主导或压制可以大大抑制一个世纪后的增长趋势，反之亦然。根据当前和过去的社会地位进行分析。线性模型显示，早期主导或抑制可以显着抑制一个世纪后的增长趋势，反之亦然。

最后，我们讨论了社会漂移对基于幸存者的增长趋势分析，展位动态和营林管理的影响。