Effect of thinning and natural variation in bole roundness in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)

Bole eccentricity of Scots pine stems was measured on cross-sections of 30 trees felled from two (45 and 76 years old) thinning experiments in South Finland. Eccentricity was greatest at stump height and diminished on moving up the stem. At breast height, it varied from 2 to 9% irrespective of stand age or relative tree size. Orientation in the longest bole radius showed no unambiguous dependence on compass direction, slope direction or wind direction, i.e., it appears to be random. Stand density and thinnings also had no clear effect on bole eccentricity. It is suggested that the magnitude of bole eccentricity in the measured stands was so small that it has no practical significance. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.