Increasing frequency of droughts strongly affect the available soil water. Lower water availability was often reported to reduce  radial growth not only in climate-limited, but also in optimal areas of tree species distribution. Sampling strategies in dendrochronology focus on specific sites, often in climate-limited conditions. Using tree ring samples collected within National Forest Inventories provides an opportunity to assess growth-climate responses statistically representative of the great variability in environmental conditions. A total of 859 tree ring cores from 5 dominant tree species  of European temperate forests (Norway spruce, silver fir, Scots pine, European beech and sessile oak) were collected during the 2015 - 2016 cycle of the Slovak National Forest Inventory. To quantify the drought events, we used SPI of spring and summer period derived from CRU climate database. The results indicated a significant inter- and intra-specific variability in growth-climate responses across the environmental gradients. In addition, a difference in the radial increment recovery period was found between the species.