In the context of changing magnitudes and frequencies of natural hazards such as debris flows or snow avalanches caused by the current climate change a detailed understanding of tree reactions on growth stresses induced through different geomorphological forces is desirable. Macroscopic changes in wood formation (growth variations in trees) as reaction to external impacts have often been used for dating catastrophic events. Frequently, conifers have been used in dendrogeomorphology for reconstructions of geomorphic processes while similar studies with broadleaf species are rather rare. However, broadleaf species often occur in mixed forests together with conifer trees and are sometimes the dominant species in lower elevations. Furthermore, broadleaf species possess a more complex wood anatomy and offer structural features for further analysis not found in coniferous wood. Hence, it is essential to also examine the reaction wood of broadleaf species in more detail in order to enable dendrogeomorphological studies in vegetation zones dominated by them. It is suggested here that the additional application of wood anatomical techniques can harvest supplementary information about type, size and intensity of past hazardous impacts on tree growth. Long-term growth experiments imitating typical impacts of different geomorphic events are being conducted and their wood anatomical reactions monitored in order to study the likely varying reactions to a range of mechanical stresses, and first results are presented.