The Floracliff Trees

It is difficult to know the age of a tree. Size and age are not closely related, and it is possible for a small tree on a poor site to be much older than a large tree of the same species on a better site. The only accurate way to measure tree age is to count the annual rings that temperate trees make. This is done by taking a pencil-size core of a standing tree, or cutting a slab from a dead tree. The oldest tree for which we have a highly accurate count is a 404-year-old chinkapin oak at Floracliff State Nature Preserve. It is very likely that older trees will be found. Old trees are often hollow, which makes accurate counting of early rings impossible. This chapter discusses the science of dendrochronology, the measurement of time using tree rings. It also discusses the reasons that old trees die and makes recommendations for prolonging the lives of very old trees.