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Talking TrunksTrees grow each year in height and in diameter. The tree gets taller and the trunk gets “fatter” or thicker. This growth comes at the tips of the branches (height) and underneath the bark (diameter). The growth underneath the bark is new wood. The growth of this new wood each year forms a “annual ring” that gives a record of the tree’s growth. These rings can be counted to estimate the tree’s age. The tree in “Talking Trunks” is about 33 years old. Did you get it? The pattern of the tree rings also tells foresters information about how well the trees have grown over time and that helps make decisions about how to manage the forest. You’ll learn more about that later. Some trees have trunks that are thick and some are thin. We tend to think that the thicker trees are older and the thinner trees are younger. But this is not always true. The thicker trees may be older but they may have grown faster. Counting rings is really the only way to be sure what trees are older and which trees are younger. To learn more about tree rings look at the web sites below.
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