Shoots of damaged Quercus dalechampii Ten. saplings were shorter and their growth lagged behind by more than one week compared to the control shoots. Photosynthetic activity in leaves of the damaged trees was significantly lowered. Yet the leaf dark respiration rate was higher in damaged saplings. Changes of both the growth and leaf photosynthetic activities may also be ušed as a sensitive diagnostic parameter in ascertaining the negative effects of abiotic and/or biotic factors of the environment.