Which term or tool is used to take core samples from trees to determine age or detect problems?

• A. Increment Borer
• B. Dendrochronology
• C. Annual Ring
• D. Outer Bark

Answer: (A)

Core sampling to determine a tree’s age and to detect problems is done with an increment borer. This specialized tool is a hollow auger on a handle that you twist into the trunk to withdraw a slender, cylindrical wood sample. The extracted core shows the growth rings, so you can count them to estimate age and look for ring width patterns, scars, or other features that indicate stress, disease, or pest activity. Dendrochronology is the study of these ring patterns to date events and reconstruct past conditions, and it often relies on cores obtained with tools like the increment borer, but it’s the instrument itself that performs the sampling. The annual ring refers to the ring layers you read in the core, not the tool, and outer bark isn’t used for taking core samples.