how to find age of a tree?

Answer 1

When you look through a section of a tree, you can work out the age of the tree by counting the number of concentric rings. There's one ring for every year of the trees life. Of course to find the age of the tree by this method you have to cut the tree down.

Here's an alternative and faster way to estimate the age of a tree. Take a tape and measure the girth (distance around the trunk) approximately 150cms. from the ground.

If the tree is growing close to other trees, and it has a tall straight trunk, it will have been struggling to grow up to the sunlight, so every 12mms. of girth equals one year of growth.

If the tree is standing on its own with plenty of side branches growing from the trunk, then every 25 mm. of girth equals one year of growth.

Answer 2

I would just like to emphasise the fact that a tree will have TWO SETS OF RINGS PER ONE YEARS GROWTH.

The problem starts with location. In the tropics a tree may grow all year round and not lay down as many rings as years it has been alive. Where conditions are less favourable (cold, altitude) the rings may be so tightly packed that it is almost impossible to count. I have seen a picture of a section through a tree where a single grain of sugar covered an average 15 years growth.

Answer 3

In a tree trunk you have two types of cells, Phloem and Xylem. The Xylem forms the bark and the Phloem forms the wood. These cells form into concentric rings. If you look VERY carefully you will see two sets of rings in each ring. That is why I mention the difference. If you count each set of rings, the larger is spring and settles into smaller for fall (less rain fall), giving you a calendar of weather conditions as well as other details like insect damage. Counting the rings will give you a fairly close age on the tree, if done at the base. Cutting the tree down or doing a core sample are both non-perfect methods but I believe cutting the tree down gives the best sample. Sometimes staining the wood with iodine brings out the fainter rings and gives a better count.

Answer 4

You determine the age, by counting the rings in the trunk of the tree... Using an increment bore to extract a tree's core

Determining the age of a tree using an increment bore and core extractor is a interesting project for students of many ages.

Tools
Increment bore and core extractor, plastic straw with a wide diameter, wooden sample holder, all-purpose white glue, fine sandpaper-4 grades #240-320-400-600

Procedure
Standing with the increment bore about waist high on the chosen tree trunk, puncture the bark and begin turning increment bore. Continue until the bore tip is over halfway through the diameter of the trunk. This may take some arm strength.
Insert core extractor that helps remove core sample from the tree. Insert at the bottom of the increment bore and slowly remove the extractor that should have the core laying on the extractor blade.
Put the core sample in a large plastic straw that has maskina tape on the end. Identify the tree by writing the site location and the tree name on the tape.
You may want to measure the circumference of the tree at this time. this is called a DBH (Diameter Breast High) measurement. This is simply done by taking a centimeter tape and wrapping it around the tree at breast height, and reading the measurement where the tape meets.
After coming in from the field allow the care sample to dry atleast 24 hours. Glue the core in a wooden sample holder made from a strip of yellow poplar in which a groove has been made to hold the sample. Allow the glue to dry thoroughly.
Sand the sample beginning with #240 fine grade sandpaper. Continue using the other grades of sandpaper as necessary to sand very smooth. The sanding should make the growth rings evident. The sample may be sanded to become level with the holder edges. During the sanding process, wetting the sample lightly with water may make it easier to see the growth rings.
In some species you may need to count the growth rings with the aid of a microscope. Count the rings from the core (center of the tree) to the edge.

Following a few easy matematical calculations you can estimate the age of any large tree. You will need a few materials: diameter tape to calculate the radius of the tree, increment borrer to retrieve a core sample and a metric ruler. It is not necessary to core to the heart of the tree.

After measuring the DBH and obtaining a core sample:
Divide the DBH by 2 to find the radius of the tree.
Measure the length of the core sample (cm).
Divide the length by the number of rings to determine the annual growth rate of the tree.
Divide the radius (cm) by the annual growth rate to calculate the age of the tree

Answer 5

When you look through a section of a tree, you can work out the age of the tree by counting the number of concentric rings. There's one ring for every year of the trees life. Of course to find the age of the tree by this method you have to cut the tree down.

Here's an alternative and faster way to estimate the age of a tree. Take a tape and measure the girth (distance around the trunk) approximately 150cms. from the ground.

If the tree is growing close to other trees, and it has a tall straight trunk, it will have been struggling to grow up to the sunlight, so every 12mms. of girth equals one year of growth.

If the tree is standing on its own with plenty of side branches growing from the trunk, then every 25 mm. of girth equals one year of growth.

Answer 6

When you look through a section of a tree, you can work out the age of the tree by counting the number of concentric rings. There's one ring for every year of the trees life. Of course to find the age of the tree by this method you have to cut the tree down.

Here's an alternative and faster way to estimate the age of a tree. Take a tape and measure the girth (distance around the trunk) approximately 150cms. from the ground.

If the tree is growing close to other trees, and it has a tall straight trunk, it will have been struggling to grow up to the sunlight, so every 12mms. of girth equals one year of growth.

If the tree is standing on its own with plenty of side branches growing from the trunk, then every 25 mm. of girth equals one year of growth.

Answer 7

Very interesting method is adopted to find the ages of the trees. It is called Tree-ring Dating Method. For this a special instrument called "increment borer" is used to remove a core of wood from the trunk of the tree and by counting the thin bands of the rings age of the tree is determined. Another method is by measuring the circumference of the trunk with a special tape.

Answer 8

the age of the tree can be determined by counting the number of concentric circles in a cross section of the bark.

Answer 9

Cut horizantally across the tree and count the rings. Some people just put some rod in and pull it out, it will have the rings. You don't really need to cut the whole tree down though.

Answer 10

First you have to cut the tree to figure that out, then you count the how many circles (rings) there are starting from the middle each ring represents a year.