Explore how trees grow from the inside out and why trunk size can change with the day and the season.
This analysis follows real measurements from pine trunks and other trees to show how water movement, temperature differences, and tissue structure influence growth. Readers will see how the cambium, bast, cork, and wood cells work together to transfer water from roots to leaves, and how daily and seasonal shifts affect trunk diameter.
The book presents hands‑on findings from dendrographic studies, including how instruments track tiny changes in living trees like Monterey pine. It explains why trunk size can shrink even when temperatures rise, and how rainfall, irrigation, and soil moisture alter growth patterns. Concrete examples from different trees help reveal the physical processes behind growth and shrinkage, with careful observation of fractions of millimeters and annual rings.
- Understand how water moves through roots, bark, and wood to feed growth and how this affects trunk size.
- See how temperature, humidity, and air flow influence water loss and the balance within the trunk.
- Learn what dendrographs, auxographs, and ring measurements reveal about a tree’s growth history.
- Discover the roles of cork, bast, cambium, and wood cells in daily and yearly growth patterns.
Ideal for readers curious about plant science, forestry, or how researchers study tree growth in real conditions.
Growth in Trees by D. T. Macdougal provides a window into the hidden rhythms of tree life and the data behind growth theories.