West facing slopes grow poorer quality trees?

[doclogger]

Hello to all.  This is my first post.
My brother had a state forester out to look over some timber in central Missouri who said the oaks on the west facing slopes were likely of very poor quality.  Anybody have a good explanation for this statement?

[Ianab]

It's possible. Depends on local conditions. Prevailing weather maybe? Does a West facing slope get more wind, or hit harder by ice storms in your area? That would affect the trees, and they may not grow as tall and straight as ones in a more sheltered place. So lower quality logs.

Morning sun vs afternoon sun affecting conditions?

There is no hard and fast rules, but if something about your location tended to create some consistent micro-climates, that's something a local forester would notice over time.

Ian

[SwampDonkey]

Depends on the soil and water on those slopes. Same climate (except when considering micro-climate such as early and late frost and elevation) as the rest of the woodlot. I would not take that as a generality, just a site specific statement.

[Phorester]

West facing slopes are hotter and dryer than other slopes because they get more sun during the day.  So the timber quality is indeed poorer on those slopes. 

Quite often, south and west facing hillsides will have pine on them, while the other slopes will have hardwoods.  These slopes are so much hotter and drier that the pines win out over the hardwoods since they can tolerate hot dry growing conditions better than hardwoods.

[chester_tree _farmah]

But up nord here the warmer slopes are were u typically find your quality hardwoods and cooler northern slopes u find your fir and spruce. To take it to the extreme u can typically grow fruit trees up here on southerly facing slopes that will die on northerly facing slopes due to typically colder micro climate.

[curdog]

On our drier aspects we see a lot more pine, scarlet oak, chestnut oak and many less valuable species. Our northern aspects will have more northern red oak and poplar, white oaks and in general better timber since they retain more moisture due to shorter time of sun exposure. There will be exceptions to the rule for s/sw or n aspects ( coves, rock outcrops, etc), but most of our timber on s/sw/w aspects will not be as good quality as our northern aspects.

[mesquite buckeye]

I would add that the steepness of the slope and soil depth/water holding ablilty also will affect which slopes produce better timber. All of my farm faces south except for some small east west draws. I get more problems based upon where I have gravel subsoil where it droughts out quicker. In general, my south slopes and north slopes show little difference in quality. ;D

Also, as you move west into drier forests, the north/south effect can be more important.

[doclogger]

Thanks to all for the input.  Most of our wind and storm fronts here come in from the west so I wonder if wind damage plays  a roles.

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, doclogger.  There is usually much better moisture conditions on the East and South slopes.  The longer & hotter evening sun has more drying effect on the Western slopes.

[Southside]

Local conditions make all the difference.  Back in Oregon the western slopes of the Cascades grow the big wood and the eastern sides grow the poor wood, literally a couple of miles and the size of the trees changes.  Two issues at work there are the fact that the mountains stop the majority of the moisture that comes in off the Pacific and the eastern side has a  lot more volcanic pumice on it from the formation of Crater Lake, literally feet deeper.  We just called it mountain puke, does not make capturing and keeping precipitation any easier for ranching that's for sure. 

[SwampDonkey]

Slope affects drainage a lot, so it depends a lot on how steep the ground is, coupled with the soil structre. Up here in the north, west and southwest have better hardwood when we are not talking about steep slopes.  But <20 % with deeper moist soil. Snow also melts faster here on SW and W fields which means you can work the local land as much as 2 weeks sooner on those fields. The effects of the sun as suggested on aspect of the land. The frost free days are also more when the fields are more upland away from low bowl shape areas of terrain. Works the same for the woods. Up by the house, the field is frost free longer than down hill in lower fields. See it year after year. As far as tree growth, it comes down to soil and water, which is affected directly by structure, slope and aspect and ultimately rainfall. I could not say that a western or SW slope has poor timber in general, beause it comes down to local conditions, not just aspect. If I am growing hardwood in glacial sand, it's all crap in any direction. Even the saplings look crappy. :D