Studies of global climate change predict that increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration and temperature are expected to occur over the next century. To help gain an insight into the potential effect of these changes on forests, this book describes how major European tree species respond to experimentally manipulated environmental conditions. The effects on photosynthesis, respiration and development are described and the results used to generate models of the likely response of European forests to the predicted changes in climate. The volume encompasses studies carried out under the ECOCRAFT (European Collaboration on CO2 Responses Applied to Forests and Trees) programme, focusing on the major tree species found in eight European countries. As such it provides an authoritative report of the current status of European research into this important area of global environmental biology.