Sometimes it is necessary to understand and know exactly how many years a particular tree lives. Depending on the goals, the methods for determining the age of the plant will also differ. The type of wood also has an effect. This is significant both for counting the years of life on felled or felled trees, and, if necessary, not to interfere with the natural cycle of their development. We consider all the simple options available.
Sawn or felled
How to determine the age of a tree by rings, called annual rings, many have probably heard. It is enough to count their number, usually quite clearly visible at the site of the cut of the trunk.
For a more accurate definition, it is better to cut twice, as close to the roots as possible, then grind. View through a magnifying glass or microscope. Sometimes the rings are not pronounced enough, then you can use a chemical "developer". An alcohol solution of aniline, liquid from ferrous chloride, blue, even ordinary ink diluted with water, potassium permanganate, will do.
There are some subtleties for different breeds. In this case, how to determine the age of a tree by annual rings depends on whether the plant belongs to deciduous or coniferous species. If the tree is a broad-leaved species, it is best to cut diagonally, this will increase the width of the usually thin and hard to see rings.
Incremental borer Pressler (age)
Our ancestors took care of how to determine the age of a tree by the trunk without causing any significant damage to it back in the 19th century. If it is not necessary or impossible to cut the plant, a special tool should be used, taking a sample of wood with it.
The drill consists of a conical, hollow cylinder with a thread at one end. The other edge has four edges. It is on this side that the handle is fixed, which simultaneously performs the function of a case. The tool also includes a plate with grooves.
A piece of wood taken for sampling is called a core. To extract such a fragment from a tree, the drill is placed at a right angle to the trunk, then screwed into it.
As the tool is immersed in the wood, the latter fills the cavity of the tube. After the drill has been inserted to the required depth, a grooved plate is inserted into the tool through the hole on the handle. By turning the drill in the opposite direction, it is removed from the trunk.
On the core, you can easily calculate the number of annual layers. However, one should always consider how far from the roots the sample was taken. You can determine the age of a tree more accurately only by adding to the figure obtained by counting the rings, the number of years required to reach the height at which the core was taken. It depends on the breed of the plant and the conditions of its development.
The age borer allows you to extract a core up to 35 cm long, which means that in this way you can determine the age of a tree by a trunk diameter not exceeding 70 cm.
In representatives of breeds that grow very slowly, as well as in inhabitants of densely planted shaded areas, annual layers are thin and difficult to distinguish. In such cases, an optical taxation device (OOT) is used.
This device is equipped with an eyepiece and a lens. A core is placed in it and, focusing, the wood structure enlarged by optics is examined.
There are also several ways to determine the age of trees without the use of any tools.
Coniferous trees - counting the number of years lived by whorls and bark
The features of calculating the lifetime of some coniferous trees make it possible to do this quite accurately and easily, without using mechanisms. In pine, spruce, cedar, fir, it is enough to count the whorls located on the trunk.
How to determine the age of a tree in this way? Very simple! First of all, you need to know what a whorl is.
A whorl is called a fan-like divergence of branches. They are on the trunk. Recount them. Now, 3 should be added to the existing value if the object of your attention is pine, 4 - for spruce, in the case of fir and cedar - 5 and 10, respectively.
These indicators indicate the age at which the first whorl is formed in a particular type of tree. The number obtained as a result of summation should be considered the age of the tree.
An important sign of the maturity of plants is their bark. The value is the structure and color. In young trees, the bark is usually lighter and smoother. For pines and spruces, such a surface of the trunk is relevant for six to seven decades of life, it will be rough only in the lower part - approximately to the level of a meter from the roots.
After another similar time period - at the age of 130-150 years, the smooth bark will remain only on the upper half of the tree trunk, and will be covered with cracks in the lower half. The bark of old plants is usually covered with lichens and moss.
Fruit trees
For orchard owners great importance is able to determine the age of a tree. How to do this without harming the plants? There are several methods.
One of them is the calculation of annual increments.
This method allows you to find out the age of a tree without harming it, with an error of 1-2 years. It is most often used in horticulture. This approach is relevant for fruit trees and some wild forest trees. How to determine their age quickly?
It is enough to find the oldest skeletal (large, one of the main ones in the crown) branch. At the base of each one-year-old shoot, an influx is formed that resembles a ring. By counting such growths, it is quite easy to determine how old a given plant is.
Accounting is carried out in the direction from the top of the branch to the trunk. 2 is added to the resulting figure, the final value will be the desired age of the tree. Annual flow is quite difficult to determine in plants whose age is more than three years. In this case, it is better to count the branches. However, under various conditions, shoots can die or form in an amount of more than one per year. This method will have a slightly larger error than the previous one.
fruit tree seedlings
Seedling maturity recognition should be discussed separately.
A plant that sprouted in summer usually reaches a height of 70-100 cm in a year, the trunk diameter at a distance of 10 cm from the roots does not exceed 1-1.3 cm. A one-year-old seedling has not yet given lateral branches. Accordingly, there will be no traces of their removal. The roots are no longer than 35 cm, but usually not shorter than a quarter meter.
Particular attention should be paid to seedlings, originally from subtropical zones. They are able to begin branching in the first year under favorable conditions. Unscrupulous sellers may pass them off as a more mature plant, but, in the end, the southern seedling will not survive the winter of the middle lane.
How to determine the age of a tree by trunk diameter
Such a method exists, but it is difficult to call it correct without a detailed understanding of the factors affecting the growth and formation of a particular plant. The indicators will depend on its type, terrain, conditions environment of this region and the area where the tree grows in particular.
You can consider a similar option on the example of oak.
This will require either a special measuring fork, or you will have to do with a soft tape measure, a tailor's centimeter.
In this species, the measurement is carried out at a distance of 1.3 m from the ground.
From the circumference of a circle, the diameter is calculated using a mathematical formula known since high school: D (diameter) = L (circumference) / Pi (constant value, the value is 3.14).
The next step will require information on the average annual growth of the measured tree species. For oak, it is about 44 mm.
Such calculations are not very reliable, they have an error of up to 15%, since the value of the annual growth of each tree is a very individual indicator and dependent on many external factors.
- How to determine the age of a pine
- How to distinguish pine from spruce
- How to find out the age of the icon
- - tape measure;
- - calculator.
- - a tubular drill with a ramrod and a piston to it;
- - garden var.
What is ship timber
During the heyday of sailing shipbuilding, ships were almost entirely made of wood. For this purpose, the so-called timber was used, to which strict requirements were imposed in terms of weight, strength, trunk shape and elasticity. The hardest thing was to pick suitable tree for the mast of a sailing ship, since it must be resistant to severe loads that occur in strong winds.
Traditionally, oak, teak, larch and pine were used to make the main parts of the sailboat hull. These types of wood were best suited for the construction of the ship's frame, its plating and decking. For the manufacture of masts, most often they selected a special ship pine, which was distinguished by a straight trunk and sufficient girth. Other types of wood were used for interior equipment and decoration of ships, which required less material: spruce, ash, valuable mahogany, acacia.
In a number of states where shipbuilding was one of the leading sectors of the economy, there were protected plantations and entire forests, which were intended exclusively for the construction of ships. In Russia, the very concept of "ship timber" was introduced by Tsar Peter, who in the early years of the 18th century, by his decree, established ship groves, which were deciduous and coniferous. Here, under the control of the state, especially high-quality species of pine, larch and oak grew. Ordinary economic felling in ship forests was strictly prohibited.
ship pine
In the construction of ships, several types of ship pine were most often used. These include yellow pine, which mostly grows in central Russia. Its resilient, durable and strong wood was used for the construction of above-deck structural elements, including masts, topmasts and yardarms.
The red pine, characteristic of the northern regions, with its dry wood was used for sheathing, and also went to the deck flooring. White pine grows, as a rule, in wetlands. It was of poorer quality, and therefore was used for those parts that did not require exceptional strength and did not carry a serious load.
The ideal ship pine has a straight, tall, thick and very strong trunk, on which there are practically no flaws. The height of the tree may be different, but the most tall trees, the trunks of which rose up to several tens of meters.
The wood of ship pine is usually moderately resinous, with a hard heartwood. To achieve this state, the tree must grow for several decades in favorable conditions. The best specimens of ship pine reached the age of one hundred years, were up to 40 m in height and up to half a meter in diameter.
tree age
According to scientists, some trees on the planet live for more than 4500 years. They are witnesses to the events that have taken place on Earth for 45 centuries. Of course, not everyone lives to such advanced years. Experts say that the average lifespan of vegetation in the forest reaches 130 years. This largely depends on the conditions in which the forest dwellers are.
How to determine age?
It is not determined out of curiosity. Often this is a necessary procedure in cases where a decision is made to cut or carry out vaccination procedures.
There are various ways:
- in coniferous trees, whorls are counted (fan-shaped processes on the trunk). Years are added to the obtained value: for spruce 7mdash; 3, for fir - 5, for cedar - 10;
- knowing the average annual growth of a certain type of green spaces in your area, you need to measure the circumference of the trunk at a level of 1.3 meters from the ground, calculate the diameter and divide it by the growth factor.
A more accurate way is to count annual rings inside the trunk.
growth rings
In places where there is a periodic change in climate, circles appear in the trunk of trees. The process occurs due to the cambium located under the bark. These are living cells that provide growth through their division.
In winter, the plant sleeps. Life processes in it are inactive. Violent activity is activated in the spring and continues all summer. At this time, the cambium forms many new cells, and the color of summer is significantly different from the color of spring. As a result, a thin light and a wider dark stripe appears inside the trunk.
The dark circles are growth rings. In some tree species, they stand out more clearly, in others they are barely visible. Their thickness depends on the conditions in which the plant was located.
Determining age by tree rings
You can determine how old a tree is by the circles on the cut at the base of its trunk or on the stump remaining from it. Ideally, plants form one ring per year. However, natural negative factors can contribute to the appearance of several rings or their absence in one year. If they are not clearly expressed, it is necessary to apply an aniline solution, blue or diluted ink to the cut.
A less radical way to do without a saw cut is to use a Pressler drill.
Its length should approximately correspond to the diameter of the tree. The process does not require cutting:
- hold the tool at chest level;
- screw it into the barrel to the core;
- we take out the sample and count the number of dark bands on it.
After the experiment, the tree needs small healing procedures for filling a drilled hole.
Sometimes it is necessary to understand and know exactly how many years a particular tree lives. Depending on the goals, the methods for determining the age of the plant will also differ. The type of wood also has an effect. This is significant both for counting the years of life on felled or felled trees, and, if necessary, not to interfere with the natural cycle of their development. We consider all the simple options available.
Sawn or felled
As a tree on the rings, called annuals, many have probably heard. It is enough to count their number, usually quite clearly visible at the site of the cut of the trunk.
For a more accurate definition, it is better to cut twice, as close to the roots as possible, then grind. View through a magnifying glass or microscope. Sometimes the rings are not pronounced enough, then you can use a chemical "developer". An alcohol solution of aniline, liquid from ferrous chloride, blue, even ordinary ink diluted with water, potassium permanganate, will do.
There are some subtleties for different breeds. In this case, how to determine the age of a tree by annual rings depends on whether the plant belongs to deciduous or coniferous species. If the tree is a broad-leaved species, it is best to cut diagonally, this will increase the width of the usually thin and hard to see rings.
Incremental borer Pressler (age)
Our ancestors took care of how to determine the age of a tree by the trunk without causing any significant damage to it back in the 19th century. If it is not necessary or impossible to cut the plant, a special tool should be used, taking a sample of wood with it.
The drill consists of a conical, hollow cylinder with a thread at one end. The other edge has four edges. It is on this side that the handle is fixed, which simultaneously performs the function of a case. The tool also includes a plate with grooves.
A piece of wood taken for sampling is called a core. To extract such a fragment from a tree, the drill is placed at a right angle to the trunk, then screwed into it.
As the tool is immersed in the wood, the latter fills the cavity of the tube. After the drill has been inserted to the required depth, a grooved plate is inserted into the tool through the hole on the handle. By turning the drill in the opposite direction, it is removed from the trunk.
On the core, you can easily calculate the number of annual layers. However, one should always consider how far from the roots the sample was taken. You can determine the age of a tree more accurately only by adding to the figure obtained by counting the rings, the number of years required to reach the height at which the core was taken. It depends on the breed of the plant and the conditions of its development.
The age borer allows you to extract a core up to 35 cm long, which means that in this way you can determine the age of a tree by a trunk diameter not exceeding 70 cm.
In representatives of breeds that grow very slowly, as well as in inhabitants of densely planted shaded areas, annual layers are thin and difficult to distinguish. In such cases, an optical taxation device (OOT) is used.
This device is equipped with an eyepiece and a lens. A core is placed in it and, focusing, the wood structure enlarged by optics is examined.
There are also several ways to determine the age of trees without the use of any tools.
Coniferous trees - counting the number of years lived by whorls and bark
The features of calculating the lifetime of some coniferous trees make it possible to do this quite accurately and easily, without using mechanisms. In pine, spruce, cedar, fir, it is enough to count the whorls located on the trunk.
How to determine the age of a tree in this way? Very simple! First of all, you need to know what a whorl is.
A whorl is called a fan-like divergence of branches. They are on the trunk. Recount them. Now, 3 should be added to the existing value if the object of your attention is pine, 4 - for spruce, in the case of fir and cedar - 5 and 10, respectively.
These indicators indicate the age at which the first whorl is formed in a particular type of tree. The number obtained as a result of summation should be considered the age of the tree.
An important sign of the maturity of plants is their bark. The value is the structure and color. In young trees, the bark is usually lighter and smoother. For pines and spruces, such a surface of the trunk is relevant for six to seven decades of life, it will be rough only in the lower part - approximately to the level of a meter from the roots.
After another similar time period - at the age of 130-150 years, the smooth bark will remain only on the upper half of the tree trunk, and will be covered with cracks in the lower half. The bark of old plants is usually covered with lichens and moss.
Fruit trees
For orchard owners, the ability to determine the age of a tree is of great importance. How to do this without harming the plants? There are several methods.
One of them is the calculation of annual increments.
This method allows you to find out the age of a tree without harming it, with an error of 1-2 years. It is most often used in horticulture. This approach is relevant for fruit trees and some wild forest trees. How to determine their age quickly?
It is enough to find the oldest skeletal (large, one of the main ones in the crown) branch. At the base of each one-year-old shoot, an influx is formed that resembles a ring. By counting such growths, it is quite easy to determine how old a given plant is.
Accounting is carried out in the direction from the top of the branch to the trunk. 2 is added to the resulting figure, the final value will be the desired age of the tree. Annual flow is quite difficult to determine in plants whose age is more than three years. In this case, it is better to count the branches. However, under various conditions, shoots can die or form in an amount of more than one per year. This method will have a slightly larger error than the previous one.
fruit tree seedlings
Seedling maturity recognition should be discussed separately.
A plant that sprouted in summer usually reaches a height of 70-100 cm in a year, the trunk diameter at a distance of 10 cm from the roots does not exceed 1-1.3 cm. A one-year-old seedling has not yet given lateral branches. Accordingly, there will be no traces of their removal. The roots are no longer than 35 cm, but usually not shorter than a quarter meter.
Particular attention should be paid to seedlings, originally from subtropical zones. They are able to begin branching in the first year under favorable conditions. Unscrupulous sellers may pass them off as a more mature plant, but, in the end, the southern seedling will not survive the winter of the middle lane.
How to determine the age of a tree by trunk diameter
Such a method exists, but it is difficult to call it correct without a detailed understanding of the factors affecting the growth and formation of a particular plant. The indicators will depend on its type, terrain, environmental conditions of the region and the area where the tree grows in particular.
You can consider a similar option on the example of oak.
This will require either a special measuring fork, or you will have to do with a soft tape measure, a tailor's centimeter.
In this species, the measurement is carried out at a distance of 1.3 m from the ground.
From the circumference of a circle, the diameter is calculated using a mathematical formula known since high school: D (diameter) = L (circumference) / Pi (constant value, the value is 3.14).
The next step will require information on the average annual growth of the measured tree species. For oak, it is about 44 mm.
Such calculations are not very reliable, they have an error of up to 15%, since the value of the annual growth of each tree is a very individual indicator and dependent on many external factors.
tree age
According to scientists, some trees on the planet live for more than 4500 years. They are witnesses to the events that have taken place on Earth for 45 centuries. Of course, not everyone lives to such advanced years. Experts say that the average lifespan of vegetation in the forest reaches 130 years. This largely depends on the conditions in which the forest dwellers are.
How to determine age?
It is not determined out of curiosity. Often this is a necessary procedure in cases where a decision is made to cut or carry out vaccination procedures.
There are various ways:
- in coniferous trees, whorls are counted (fan-shaped processes on the trunk). Years are added to the obtained value: for spruce 7mdash; 3, for fir - 5, for cedar - 10;
- knowing the average annual growth of a certain type of green spaces in your area, you need to measure the circumference of the trunk at a level of 1.3 meters from the ground, calculate the diameter and divide it by the growth factor.
A more accurate way is to count annual rings inside the trunk.
growth rings
In places where there is a periodic change in climate, circles appear in the trunk of trees. The process occurs due to the cambium located under the bark. These are living cells that provide growth through their division.
In winter, the plant sleeps. Life processes in it are inactive. Violent activity is activated in the spring and continues all summer. At this time, the cambium forms many new cells, and the color of summer is significantly different from the color of spring. As a result, a thin light and a wider dark stripe appears inside the trunk.
The dark circles are growth rings. In some tree species, they stand out more clearly, in others they are barely visible. Their thickness depends on the conditions in which the plant was located.
Determining age by tree rings
You can determine how old a tree is by the circles on the cut at the base of its trunk or on the stump remaining from it. Ideally, plants form one ring per year. However, natural negative factors can contribute to the appearance of several rings or their absence in one year. If they are not clearly expressed, it is necessary to apply an aniline solution, blue or diluted ink to the cut.
A less radical way to do without a saw cut is to use a Pressler drill.
Its length should approximately correspond to the diameter of the tree. The process does not require cutting:
- hold the tool at chest level;
- screw it into the barrel to the core;
- we take out the sample and count the number of dark bands on it.
After the experiment, the tree needs small medical procedures to cover up the drilled hole.
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