All About Dendrochronology

Tree Rings
Dendrochronology
Pronounced • den – dro - kron – o - la – gee •

Word roots • dendro (from dendros, greek for tree)

• chrono (from chronos, greek for time or past δένδρονχρόνοςλογία

events)

• logy (from logos, greek for reason or word.

“ology” indicates a study or theory)
What are tree rings?

• Growth – varies throughout year in our

climate

• Late Spring/Summer – wide light coloured

ring (lots of growth)

• Late summer/autumn – narrow darker ring

(little growth)

• Winter – dormant (no growth)

How do we know a Tree’s age

A tree adds new layers of wood each Spring and Summer

Wood added in the Spring grows faster and is lighter

Wood added in the Summer (and Fall) grows slower and shows up darker

In order to date a tree, you should count the dark rings on a tree's stump once it's cut down

So once you find your tree stump, you'll want to count ONLY the dark circles to date your
tree.
Quick history

Was developed during the first half of the 20th century

Started originally by the astronomer A.E. Douglass, who founded the Laboratory of Tree-
Ring Research at the University of Arizona. Douglass researched sunspot activity. He
expected changes in solar activity would affect climate patterns on Earth. The climate
would be recorded by tree-ring growth patterns.

The phenomenon of tree rings and their relationship with wet and dry years had been
noticed before Douglass. There is a brief note in one of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks,
and Charles Babbage in 1837 came up with the same idea.
A. E. Douglas
How do we know a tree’s age?
Let’s look at some Tree stumps

Did your tree survive a drought?

Was your tree leaning to one side when it was alive?

Was there a fire in the forest?

Was there better weather (more rain/moisture) when your tree was young or old?

How old was your tree?

In addition to tree rings, you can see markings on the stump of a tree that could indicate
infectation of bugs, a crowded forest or ample amounts of rain in different years.