2006-08-06 03:36:38 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Botany
I doubt it could be nailed down to exact years, but maybe a good estimate could be made, Counting the rings only gives you the number of growth cycles a tree has undertaken, some years trees have multiple growth cycles and other years they may have nil.
2006-08-06 11:53:30 · answer #1 · answered by Ozzie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes and no. All things being equal, a tree with a larger circumference will be older than a smaller one. This would apply best to trees of the same species in the same local region.
But since trees of different species (or trees of the same species in different environments) may grow at different rates, the method is only approximate.
Finally, you will need some independent method of measuring age so you can calibrate the circumference to age in an absolute manner.
2006-08-06 10:44:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not as far as I know. To accuratly determen the age you must take a core sample, to measure the growth rings. even this can get confusing to an amature unless they know how to count the rings. one ring=1 years growth however when looking at the ring(s) one must examine the section within the rings to determine the summer / winter growth sometimes what seems like two rings are actually one. You can even look at the rings and tell what king of year it was for example. If the ring is small(not very wide)you can determine that it was a tough year for growth, maybe lack of water or lack of sun that year maybe even damage of some sort. If the ring is large, more than likely it was an optimum year for growth. However by knowing what type of tree it is and your location one can generaly take and educated guess at its age by looking at it's trunk-Example if i see a hard maple tree that is 12'' in dia. i can guess that it's about 50 years old or a red pine that is 6'' in dia is probably 8-10 years old
2006-08-06 10:59:48 · answer #3 · answered by forresttreez 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes-the branch of science which deals with it is called Dendrochronology. They actually determine the age of the tree by counting the growth rings on the trunk. The thicker the trunk, the more growth rings,however, this is not so very accurate-as availability of water plays a major role in determining the no. and thickness of growth rings.
However, Dendrochronology cannot be used to determine the age of all kinds of trees.
2006-08-07 15:50:23 · answer #4 · answered by Miss Mysterious 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not accurately, since the rings in a tree's trunk vary in thickness depending on the amount of water received yearly.
2006-08-06 10:44:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not really. Even if you know the type of tree. It could be different than normal, because it grows more with better conditions. You could take a guess based on average, but you will be off.
2006-08-06 20:23:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Trees grow at different rates in different years depending on weather conditions, variety of tree, etc. You must cut it down and count the rings.
2006-08-06 10:44:12 · answer #7 · answered by bystander1212 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
depends on which particular type of tree u talking about, & yes it is possible to know from the trunk, due to the thickness of the bark etc
2006-08-06 10:42:53 · answer #8 · answered by dereckdsouza 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can get a good estimation but for exact numbers
you need to count the rings..
You can do a coring to count the rings so you don't have
to cut the tree down to find out ....
2006-08-06 10:56:52 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. It's possible by counting the rings of a true trunk. That's how they do their biological data recording.
2006-08-07 08:21:13 · answer #10 · answered by Kristen H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋