Based on allometric relationships and information provided in forest management plans, we determined aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) for a 10-year period in a Mediterranean beech forest (Fagus moesiaca Cz.) extending across an elevation gradient. The ANPP ranged from 1.87 to 15.71 Mg ha(-1) year(-1), and leaf area index (L*) ranged from 2.3 to 3.6. Although small trees (diameter at breast height < 10 cm) were not sampled, it was unlikely that this accounted for the low L* because there were very few small trees on a per-hectare basis. A weak positive relationship was found between ANPP and L*, and only ANPP was negatively related to elevation. Although L* did not vary with elevation, biomass growth efficiency (ANPP/L*) declined strongly with elevation. Leaf carbon isotope composition, leaf nitrogen content per unit area and specific leaf area of leaves collected from nine trees across an elevation gradient all varied significantly with elevation and were significantly related to one other, suggesting that water limitations at higher elevations may have driven the reduced growth efficiency at the stand level. Strong winds may also have negatively affected ANPP at higher elevations by altering belowground allocation. Further research is needed to test these hypotheses and to determine the belowground dynamics of phytomass in this ecosystem.