Biomechanical control of beech pole verticality (Fagus sylvatica) before and after thinning: theoretical modelling and ground-truth data using terrestrial LiDAR.

Most suppressed beech poles maintain a constant lean angle, and uprighting movements occur after thinning, indicating that stem lean is plastic in response to light conditions. Acclimation of posture control to other changes in growth condition should be investigated, and lean angles should be measured in forest inventories as an indicator of future wood quality.