Numerous studies of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) morphological diversity were conducted in Russia in the 20-th century (Pravdin, 1964; Schymanuk, 1970; Мamaev, 1973; Bobrov, 1978; Vidiakin, 2001 et al.). While these studies covered the entire species range and developed much information on the characteristics of the species population structure, the data collected on Scots pine intra-population variability is insufficient for understanding the species eco-genetic structure, which understanding is pre-requisite for effective Scots pine genetic diversity conservation decision-making. Certain problems regarding credibility of research results occur because most research studies of distribution of trees within Scots pine populations are based on elementary characteristics of diversity of individual tree forms, whereas complex phenotype features are considered very rarely. As elementary characteristics provide no insights into real multi-dimensional objects, the use of appropriate methods to investigate population phenotypic diversity has become crucially important.
A number of research scientists applied multivariate statistics in taxonomy (Мenytzky, 1971; Schmidt, 1984; Schemberg, 1986; , Мiliutin, Kravtzov, 1984; Zhivotovsky, 1991) and population genetics (Taylor, Mitton, 1974; Glotov, Semerikov, 1978; Zhivotovsky, 1994 et al.). However, taxonomists mainly use genus- or species-level taxons, i.e. they take a species or a population as an elementary unit. Although these efforts deserve credit, investigating intra-population polymorphism provides much valuable information in terms of understanding mechanisms of population adaptation and species temporal and spatial self-maintenance.
The use of multivariate analysis in intra-population polymorphism investigations allows to consider different aspects of Scots pine tree form diversity and forest stand condition. Investigating environmental Scots pine tee resistance, for example, requires to use a complex approach, since organisms exhibit specific and nonspecific responses to the environment that determine the occurrence of organism forms resistant to certain ecological factors or their combinations (Тarakanov et al., 2005). Since there exists a wide variety of these combinations, versions of intra-population tree resistance might be as wide.
Biota is known to survive climatic and other natural cataclysms in refugiums. Application of different research methodologies allowed to locate refugiums of a big number of coniferous species (Gribanov, 1954; Krylov, 1961; Pravdin, 1964; Smirnov, 1966; Semerikov et al, 2003; Semerikova, Semerikov, 2007 et al.). Although some geneticists propose to develop unconventional genetic methods of tree form diversity conservation and the current ecological and politic situation is favorable for that, such efforts are evidently unnecessary, as their goals and results are obscure and they are money-taking and time-consuming. The measures currently taken to conserve diversity of Scots pine tree forms found both in natural forest stands and plantations should be scaled up by focusing on conserving big populations or groups of populations proceeding from northwest to southeast, i.e. along the vector of changes of hydrothermal conditions and the greatest Scots pine inter-population genetic differences, with a special emphasis placed on particularly valuable populations characterized by the highest diversity of ecological niches, as well as those found in refugiums.
* This research was financially supported by the Russian Academy of Science, Siberian Branch through Integration Project № 53

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