Recent hot droughts and a rising atmospheric vapor pressure deficit are exposing Central European forests to growing stress, causing growth decline, crown damage and elevated mortality of some of the economically most important tree species. Foresters therefore advocate the planting of introduced Douglas fir as a replacement of more vulnerable tree species, but the species' drought and heat resistance is not sufficiently understood. Here, we analyze long-term basal area increment (BAI) trends and the climate sensitivity of growth of 15 mature Douglas fir stands along a precipitation gradient (940-580 mm yr