Trees outlive even the oldest animals in the world. There are trees that live for centuries. We have often heard that the age of a tree can be calculated by counting the rings in its trunk. However to do that, we have to cut through the trunk of the tree, and in the process kill it. In parks and sanctuaries, you may have seen the age of the tree displayed near it even as the tree is alive and standing. Is there any others way to know the age of trees?
In fact, there is no better way to assess the exact age of a tree exactly than by counting the rings. However, we can do this without destroying the tree. There is a special instrument called an ‘increment borer’ that can drill through the trunk of a tree- right to its centre. A small core of the wood is then taken out for examination. This, however, does not cause dangerous injury to the tree. The dark and light coloured rings in the sample are evaluated for the result. Each of the rings represents half of a growing season; and therefore, counting the rings would tell the exact age of a tree.
There are other ways to know the age of a tree too. A tree’s age can be estimated by measuring its circumference five feet from the ground. A tree increases in girth about one inch every year, and by measuring its girth, the tree’s age can be calculated.
Another way to do this is by examining the point of a stem where a twig begins its growth.
Picture Credit : Google
