| Abstract: | In this study an attempt was made to gather information on the relationships of morphological attributes of bareroot Pinus sylvestris seedlings in order to determine the possible use of these attributes for grading purposes. The covariance structure of different morphological variables was studied in commercially produced crops. From each selected batch of Scots pine seedlings, 300 seedlings were sampled, three successive living seedlings from each of the 100 systematically selected sampling points ("clusters"). Variance in the seedlings crop was described using a linear model: total covariance was divided into variance between batches, between clusters and between individual seedlings (error). Most of the correlations between different plant parts were large and positive. Only needle length and root length seemed to vary independently of other “length”; variables. Within one batch, at the end of the growing season, height‐diameter was more clearly size‐independent than shoot‐root ratio. Needle biomass increased exponentially with seedling height but the smallest seedlings had relatively less needle biomass than the biggest seedlings. It is not necessary to include dry mass in the requirements for seedling quality since it correlates well and can be described with other variables that can be measured more easily. Of the principal components for morphological characteristics, the “stem”; component explained 69% of the height variation and 77% of the diameter variation, the “needle”; component explaining 79% of the variation in current needle length, and the “root”; component 58% of the variation in root length. Together the three components explain 76% of the total variance in the original crops. |
