Tree Core Sampling
A tree carries it's medical records with it at all times. Using a Tree Core Sampler the true science of arboriculture becomes evident.
Arboriculturists extract a core sample just large enough to get meaningful results without harming the tree (shown as the white line in the illustration).
From this sample the rings (that look like vertical lines in the narrow sample) are used to determine the tree's environment and health over it's entire life.
It's in The Rings
Referring to the magnified portion of the tree's rings in the illustration:
- The white areas are periods of fast early spring growth. The wider the white area the more this tree increased in size that spring.
- The dark lines are the later season growth (summer/fall). During this period of growth, the tree doesn't increase in size so much as it does strengthen itself by forming a tighter cell structure.
- Each light/dark pair represents one year of growth. The age of the tree is determined by counting the rings.
A qualified arborist can use the sample to determine not only the current health of the tree but it's age as well as it's health over the entire life of the tree. This information along with the height of the tree can be used to estimate it's rate of growth and size over the next few years as well as it's expected life and maximum expected size.
