I understand that how many rings they have is how old they are but why do they have and get the rings in the first place
In: 30
It only really happens in places where there are defined seasons. The rings occur when growth slows down during the winter, with colder/more adverse conditions creating a darker section. During the summers, when conditions are good, the trees grow faster, making a thicker, lighter section. The contrast between summer-light and winter-dark sections creates the rings, with each one marking a seasonal cycle, equivalent to one year.
Trees grow like you and me. The rate of grow depends on their environment, which varies throughout the year. Hence the grow is unequal, and rings appear.
When it’s really cold out, they grow slowly. This results in a smaller, denser ring. When it’s warm out, they grow more quickly. This results in a wider, softer ring.
The rings are formed due to how trees grow and only in places with well-defined seasons. Basically, in winter, growth stops due to a lack of sunlight and leaves to gather said sunlight, and the tree goes into a sort of hibernation. Then, when spring comes around, the tree goes into overdrive and starts a bunch of new growth through the summer up until the fall. The light sections are where growth was fast, and the dark sections are where growth was paused. Since the seasons happen every year, there’s a ring for every year that passes. You can expose a tree to artificial conditions to grow more or fewer rings in a single year, but in nature, this is what happens.
This phenomenon can be found in bones as well. In places farther from the equator with more pronounced seasons, animals tend to grow faster in the summer then slow down in the winter resulting in a ring pattern.
Latest Answers