Complex sentence: Joints related to uplift and erosional unloading have orientations reflecting the principle stresses during the uplift and care needs to be taken when attempting to understand past tectonic stresses to discriminate, if possible, between tectonic and unloading joints.
Split into simpler sentences: Joints related to uplift and erosional unloading have orientations reflecting the principal stresses during the uplift. Care needs to be taken when attempting to understand past tectonic stresses to discriminate, if possible, between tectonic and unloading joints.