tree ring
Woody annual layer
A tree ring is one of the concentric circles visible in the cross-section of a tree trunk, each representing a year of growth.
The rings reveal the tree's age and record environmental conditions—wide rings indicate favorable years, narrow rings suggest drought or stress.
Scientists use tree rings to date archaeological artifacts and reconstruct past climates.
Plant growth tissue
- xylemPlant water conduit
- sapwoodTree's water-conducting layer
- heartwoodTree's central wood
- earlywoodEarly-season growth ring
latewood · summerwood · cellulose · lignin · vascular tissue · bark · pith · cross-section
Temporal ordering of events
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
- radiocarbonDecaying carbon isotope
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
- paleoclimatologyStudy of prehistoric climates
core sample · dating · historical record · timeline · carbon-14 · stratigraphy · geochronology
Tree damage from flames
- growing seasonTime crops can mature
- precipitationAtmospheric water deposit
- ice ageEra of massive glaciation
- Little Ice AgeMulti-century cold period
cambium
Plant growth tissue
earlywood · latewood · summerwood · cellulose · lignin · vascular tissue · bark · pith · cross-section · wood grain
chronology
Temporal ordering of events
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
- radiocarbonDecaying carbon isotope
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
paleoclimatology · core sample · dating · historical record · timeline · carbon-14 · stratigraphy · geochronology
fire scar
Tree damage from flames
- growing seasonTime crops can mature
- precipitationAtmospheric water deposit
- ice ageEra of massive glaciation
- tree ringsannual rings, growth rings, concentric rings, earlywood, latewood
- foresttrees, pine, oak, woods, wood
- tree partstrunk, branches, branch, bark, root
- forest ecologydecomposers, canopy, forest floor, understory, root system
- nature patternsspiral, fractal, honeycomb, branching, symmetry
- Redwoodscoast redwood, coastal redwoods, redwood forest, Redwood National Park, sequoias
tree ringouter bark
Tree's exterior protective tissue
bark · root system · crown · foliage · cambium
ring, tree, dendrite, arborist, dendritic, tree rings, dendrochronology