Frost cracks.. . a common defect in white fir in California

Abstract

Frost crack, a radial split of wood and bark, reduces the merchantability of commercial timber. Data on this defect in white fin stands of the Sierra Nevada, California, showed that frost cracks were two to three times more prevalent on trees of the east slope than those of the west slope. Percent of trees with frost cracks increased as tree diameter growth increased on the east slope, but decreased on good sites of the west slope. About 85 percent of the frost cracks were in the first 16-foot log of the lower trunk. Slow-growing trees less than 30 inches d.b.h. were the most susceptible to the defect.

Citation

Wagener, Willis W. 1970. Frost cracks.. . a common defect in white fir in California. Res. Note PSW-RN-209. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 5 p