The aim of this work was to study, on the basis of material published earlier (Heikurainen 1959), the effect of temperature on stand increment, to find out if there is any differences between Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and to study the effect of site quality on the relationship between stand increment and temperature. The calculations were based on data collected from 396 sample plots on drained peatlands in different parts of Finland.
There seemed to be no differences due to tree species or site quality in the relative amounts of growth under different climatic conditions. Thus, differences in the absolute growth between poor and fertile sites are noticeably smaller in Northern Finland than in Southern Finland. The author suggests that this implies that the lasting maximal increase of growth which can be produced, for instance, by using soil-improving agents must be less in unfavourable conditions than in favourable.