Which side do the tree's annual rings face most densely? What can the annual rings tell us?

1. Which side do the denser annual rings of a tree face?

Generally speaking, the tree rings are denser on the shady side, which is the north side. Because one annual ring represents the amount of growth a tree experiences in one year, and whether a tree grows vigorously depends on the lighting conditions. For big trees, the light conditions facing south are definitely better than those facing north, so big trees growing toward the south will grow more vigorously than those facing north, and the annual rings facing south will be wider than those facing north.

What can tree rings tell us?

1. Look at the direction: the annual rings of a tree are wide or narrow. The side with wide and sparse annual rings indicates that the tree is growing well and is facing the sunny side, which is the south. The side with narrower and denser annual rings indicates that the tree is growing poorly and is facing the shady side, which is the north side.

2. Look at the age: One annual ring is the growth of the tree in one year. We can judge how many years the tree has lived by looking at the number of annual rings. But if the temperature drops suddenly in a certain year and then rises again, it is very likely that two annual rings will appear in that year.

3. Look at the climate: The annual rings of big trees are wide and narrow. If a big tree has many narrow annual rings, and suddenly a very wide annual ring appears. This shows that the local environmental and climatic conditions were poor at the beginning, and the trees grew slowly. Later, the climate became suitable, the trees grew rapidly, and very wide annual rings appeared.