QUALIFYING THE SHAPE OF 2 MARITIME PINE TREES (PINUS-PINASTER) IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR WOOD STRUCTURE

The shape and distribution of the compression wood in the stem of a tr ee have been described using a geometrical method applied to 2 maritim e pines (Pinus pinaster) which were both 23 years old but differing in their basal inclination. The lean in one of them was attributed to ti lting, while the other could have been due to a phototropic effect. Th e radial and longitudinal distribution of compression wood is irregula r. The relation between local inclination variation and percentage of compression wood is weak. Nevertheless, in a tree between 0 and 6 m in height the excentricity varies in the same manner as the compression wood percentage. However, the basal lean was not related to the total volumetric percentage of compression wood in the tree and the first th inning was found to have had an influence on the compression wood form ation.