J. For. Sci., 2006, 52(8):337-347 | DOI: 10.17221/4516-JFS

Comparison of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) stem shape by means of geometrical methods

M. Křepela¹, R. Petráš²

¹ Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Czech University of Agriculture in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

² National Forest Centre - Forest Research Institute Zvolen, Zvolen, Slovak Republic

In this article the stem shape is compared in three coniferous tree species: Norway spruce, Scots pine and European larch. Stem is investigated by means of geometrical methods. Simplified Bookstein coordinates (stem shape diameters) and Procrustes coordinates were used for variability investigation. The material, originating from the Czech and Slovak territories, involved in total 3,346 spruce stems, 3,082 pine stems and 1,403 larch stems. The accordance of mean stem vectors was assessed by means of Hotelling's T² two-sample test. For stem shape diameters and Procrustes tangent coordinates, the variability was examined using the method of principal components analysis. The three most important principal components were diagrammatized and described. The relationship between the stem shape and its size was also investigated, and inflection points of morphological stem curve were described for all three tree species.

Keywords: Norway spruce; Scots pine; European larch; stem shape; stem shape diameters; Procrustes coordinates; principal components analysis

Published: August 31, 2006  Show citation