VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Pinus sylvestris | Scots Pine 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Scots pine is used for pulpwood and sawlogs [42].  


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
The pine grosbeak feeds on the terminal and lateral buds of Scots pine.
Porcupines consume the bark, and girdle small trees.  White-tailed deer
will browse Scots pine [10].  Moose browse it in Scandinavia and Russia
[25,34].


PALATABILITY : 
When compared to other ornamental species, Scots pine is low in
preference for white-tailed deer [10].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Scots pine is planted for erosion control [42].  It is used to reforest
coal mine spoils.  Such plantations are valued chiefly for Christmas
tree production, providing screening and wildlife food and cover, and
asthetics [5,21,56].  In Europe, it is planted to reforest burned sites
[54].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Scots pine is a highly preferred Christmas tree, accounting for 30
percent of all trees planted for that purpose [42].  As a Christmas tree
crop, it can be highly profitable in agroforestry systems which combine
the production of row crops with tree plantations [30].  Scots pine is
widely planted as an ornamental, and for windbreaks in the central Great
Plains [12,38].

Scots pine is used to monitor the effect of air pollution on plants [13].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Scots pine is usually managed with a shelterwood or uniform compartment
system.  In the Northeast and the Great Lakes states, reproduction is
abundant on sandy sites [32].

Scots pine requires high light intensities for good growth, but has
modest nutritional demands [55].  Certain ground vegetation types are
used as site quality indicators for Scots pine in Europe [7,35].
Scots pine performance varies greatly with site and seed source
[12,39,42].  Yields for most species in Scots pine stands in Germany
were improved when shade-tolerant species (Norway spruce and European
beech [Fagus sylvatica]) were grown in the understory.  Scots pine
yields, however, were slightly decreased under those conditions [2].
Scots pine growth rates decreased with decreasing acidity in greenhouse
tests; optimum seedling growth is on acidic soils [8].

Scots pine has more branches per whorl than red pine (Pinus resinosa)
or eastern white pine (P. strobus), and is thus weaker at the nodes and
subject to wind damage [42].

Scots pine is intermediate in tolerance to foliar sprays of sodium
chloride [49].

Insects and Disease:  Damaging insect species on Scots pine include
pine root collar weevil, pine root tip weevil, European pine sawfly, and
others.  Scleroderris canker has become a serious problem in Scots pine
plantations in many areas.  Other diseases include Lophodermum
needlecast, brown spot needle disease, and western gall rust [42,43].

Related categories for Species: Pinus sylvestris | Scots Pine