The steepness of a slope is an abiotic factor of the microclimate and habitat of that area. Slope aspects such as potential energy income can differ between steeper and less steep slopes (Méndez, Meave, Zermeño, Ibarra, Woods, 2016). Significant difference between individual sizes of vegetation can be found on different slopes. Although this can be due to the south facing slopes getting higher incidence of solar radiation, it could also be due to the potential energy income of larger trees on a slope versus smaller trees. If this is the case then both north and south facing slopes should have smaller trees if the slope is steeper. The larger trees of the same species are generally older than the smaller trees of the same species and this can idea can help make an inference on mortality rates of a species if there are more small trees in a given area than large ones.
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