Skip Navigation



Forestry Advance Access published online on April 8, 2009
Forestry, doi:10.1093/forestry/cpp011
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
82/4/419    most recent
cpp011v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Macdonald, E.
Right arrow Articles by Connolly, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Institute of Chartered Foresters, 2009. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
The online version of this article has been published under an open access model. Users are entitled to use, reproduce, disseminate, or display the open access version of this article for non-commercial purposes provided that: the original authorship is properly and fully attributed; the Journal and Oxford University Press are attributed as the original place of publication with the correct citation details given; if an article is subsequently reproduced or disseminated not in its entirety but only in part or as a derivative work this must be clearly indicated. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Validation of a stem straightness scoring system for Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.)

Elspeth Macdonald*, Shaun Mochan and Thomas Connolly

Forest Research, Northern Research Station, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9SY, Scotland

* Corresponding author. E-mail: elspeth.macdonald{at}forestry.gsi.gov.uk


  Abstract

This study describes the refinement and testing of a prototype scoring system for the visual assessment of stem straightness in Sitka spruce. The original system comprised a six-point scoring system from 1 (least straight) to 6 (straightest) based on an estimate of straight log lengths in the first 6 m of the stem. A longer log length category and additional score were added to the system to increase relevance to industry practice. The use of aids to measurement to improve the objectivity and accuracy of the visual assessment was tested. A purely visual assessment was as accurate as the measurement tools and was considerably quicker and easier to complete. A study to establish appropriate sampling levels indicated that between 60 and 100 trees should be assessed to obtain an acceptable estimate of the median and interquartile range of straightness scores for a stand. An investigation of the relationship between stem straightness score and yield of logs of different quality suggested that the scoring system may be used to differentiate between stands of different log quality.

Received 16 January 2008.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.