Although creep is a relatively slow slope movement, it can precede catastrophic events, and therefore information on its past occurrence is crucial to assessing the extent of natural hazards. Dendrogeomorphic methods are very effective tools for analyzing different types of slope processes, but their use in creep studies is still very limited. In doing so, it can be a unique source of information that cannot be ascertained in any other way. Thus, this study focused on validating the potential of tree-ring-based methods in the analysis of spatio-temporal creep activity. For the research, 420 tree-ring series from 210 individuals of common spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) evenly distributed on the study slope were analyzed. The methodological apparatus used had to be adapted to the needs of the specific behavior of creep compared to other types of slope processes. These included the determination of a high minimum number of trees defining the relevant part of the chronology, specific sampling, or the absence of a threshold value for the event-response index. This resulted in two chronologies, the first of which was constructed from average annual values of tree-ring eccentricity and characterized a rather continuous creep that showed signs of a steady decline in its activity. The second chronology was constructed from the occurrence of compression wood and abrupt growth suppression, i.e., growth responses following major slope movements. This chronology reflected more of an acceleration phase of seasonal creep. The spatial reconstruction of creep showed high variability of tree-ring-based signals with no tendency to cluster. This study not only provided new insights into the possibility of using dendrogeomorphic analysis in creep research but also indicated a further direction in this field, which may include in particular the analysis of age-dependency of P. abies to form asymmetric growth or the effect of tree size on local acceleration of creep.
