Year Rings

This weekend I attended my high school class reunion that my two friends and I organized. This is is nothing like a big-scale event you know from the U.S. We usually do something cultural and then head to cocktails and dinner. 

This time we visited an interactive museum on the subject of nature. Thought-provoking questions, such as 

What is our role as humans in the world?

are being asked. Possible answers:

• We are intelligent and therefore have a special responsibility.
• The world doesn't revolve around us alone. We should move ourselves out of the center.
• We are innovative and should shape the world in a sustainable way.
• Wa are the most important species. It's logical that we use the Earth for our purposes.

I'm not going into that here, but it sparked interesting discussions among my former classmates. 

What I do want to talk about, are trees. Trees' annual rings, more specifically. I am always fascinated by them, and I was glad I was able to refresh my memory as to how these rings develop:

Photo by Courtney Smith on Unsplash

During the spring, when conditions are favorable, trees experience a burst of growth. This growth phase is characterized by the development of large, thin-walled cells called earlywood. These cells form the lighter-colored portion of the tree ring.

As the season progresses into summer, growth continues but at a slower pace. The cells produced during this time, known as latewood, are smaller and thicker-walled compared to earlywood. Latewood cells form the darker-colored portion of the tree ring.

Each year, the tree goes through this cycle of growth, producing one light-colored ring (earlywood) and one dark-colored ring (latewood). Together, these rings make up one year's growth.

Various environmental factors such as temperature, moisture, sunlight, and nutrient availability can influence the width and appearance of tree rings. For example, wider rings typically indicate favorable growing conditions, while narrower rings may indicate periods of stress or limited growth.

I observed the cross-section of this tree trunk. The larger, inner part was dark brown, and a relatively small, outer ring was much lighter in color. I asked our guide how come?

The dark brown inner part of the tree trunk is the heartwood. Heartwood is the older, non-living wood at the center of the tree. Its darker color comes from natural chemical changes and deposits that occur as the tree ages. Heartwood provides structural support to the tree and often contains resins, tannins, and other substances that make it more resistant to decay and insect attacks.

The lighter outer ring I observed is called sapwood. Sapwood is the younger, living wood found just beneath the bark of the tree. It transports water and nutrients from the roots to the rest of the tree. Sapwood is usually lighter in color because it contains higher moisture levels and fewer deposits of natural chemicals compared to heartwood.

So why are some of the other trees in the exhibition almost evenly light? Don't they develop any heartwood? Also their year rings are not as distinct? 

He said, most likely it was a question of where geographically these trees come from.

Trees in temperate regions, found in both the northern and southern hemispheres, often exhibit distinct annual rings. These rings are typically well-defined, with pronounced differences between the lighter earlywood and darker latewood.

Trees in tropical regions, where temperatures remain relatively warm year-round and seasonal variations are less pronounced, may still produce growth rings, but they may be less distinct or absent altogether. Instead of distinct annual rings, tropical trees may exhibit more subtle variations in wood density or color, reflecting fluctuations in growth rates influenced by factors such as rainfall patterns, soil fertility, and local climate variability.

So interesting, I had never thought about that.

Unintentionally, but very fitting for our environmental tour, we were later treated to a meatless dinner. Note the table, by the way: lots of wood, and lots of year rings! Interesting analogy to the people sitting at the table. We, too, have been developing a few more tree rings along the years ;-)

This bar / restaurant came recommended by a classmate who occasionally helps out and wanted to promote it. I've never been there, it's located in an abandoned toy and stroller  manufacturing facility. Apparently it had been growing organically. First just a small wine bar, then an outdoor patio, then more indoor space. More furniture and decoration items found their way into the restaurant. You won't find two identical chairs in there.

We were a distinctly smaller crowd than usual, just a dozen people, but it gave everyone the possibility to interact with everyone, which was nice. 

Even our class teacher joined for over an hour. He's 80+ and didn't remember any names at first, but after a while it all came back to him, and he told anecdotes about us that we had no recollection of!

I repeat myself in saying, these people are home to me. We shared an important period of time of our development, and it shaped me. That's probably one of the reasons I take on the task of gathering them together over and over again. I think it was the sixth time we met since graduating, not too shabby!

I bravely ate the pasta (pure carbs), but I didn't drink any wine. It's all about balance, right.