Trees in Tropical Countries

Annual rings generally exist in trees where the climate halts growth at some point during the year. In our country, winter causes this shutdown. In other countries, it is the dry season. Growth begins again in the spring or rainy season.

But what happens to trees growing in countries where there is no alternation between growth and rest periods?

For example, a country where it rains all year long! Remember that all trees grow by adding successive rings. So in such an area, the beginning and end of the growth period may occur any time during the year, depending on the local conditions.

Some trees in tropical forests, like the okoumé (gaboon), manage to create several dozen very thin rings in a year, and never the same number from one year to the next. It is often difficult, even impossible, to distinguish them with the naked eye. In such cases, it is extremely hard to determine the age of the tree.

What do you know about tree growth? Click here to find out what we mean by "two-way growth".