Question

What is the best way to determine the age of a tree?
(a)Measure its diameter
(b)Count the number of leaves
(c)Count the annual rings at the base of the stem
(d)Find out the number of branches

Answer 1

Hint: The vascular cambium is partly meristem primary and partly meristem secondary. Its operation is uninterrupted and constant. It produces two types of secondary xylems, springwood, and autumn wood, due to the seasonal effect. In estimating the age of the tree, they are helpful.

Complete answer:
Annual ring (growth ring) Concentric circles of woody stems or trunks visible in cross-sections. A layer of xylem is created each year by the cambium layer, whose vessels are wide and thin-walled in the spring and smaller and thick-walled in the summer, creating a contrast between the rings. The thickness of these rings, used to assess the age of trees, also shows environmental conditions during the lifespan of a tree.

Additional Information: In plants, the layer of actively dividing cells between xylem and phloem tissues is responsible for the secondary growth of stems and roots (secondary growth occurs after the first season and results in thickness increase). Cambium, plural Cambium. Theoretically, the cambium is a single layer of cells called initial cells; technically, the initials are difficult to discern from their still undifferentiated daughter cells, and the cambium is collectively referred to as many cell layers.
So, the correct answer is ‘count the annual rings at the base of the stem’.

Note: The scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were created is dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating). In addition to dating them, this will provide data from wood for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmospheric conditions during various periods in history.