Mature at least 100-year-old Norway spruce trees located in 5 sites with different levels of damage in the Giant Mts (Krkonoše, the Czech Republic) were investigated to get deeper insight in the current physiological status of the forest ecosystem under long-term global environmental impact in 2000 and 2001. The proportion of individual bud development types is proposed as a new macroscopic marker of the current tree health status enabling classification of each tree to the one of the five following categories: increased or decreased growth activity, declining, improved or stabilized status. The most defoliated trees reveal the highest proportion of regular buds, i.e. the most intensive growth rate and the lowest proportion of aborted buds. Negative correlation between production of cones and both production of new shoots and growth intensity during the same year was found. Strong generative year is discussed to be responsible for increased growth activity and compensatory response to insufficient foliage in the following year.