Do tree rings get smaller or bigger due to drought?
If the rings of a tree are far apart, then the tree received plenty of water and nutrients that year, and the temperature was suitable for the tree to thrive, because the cambium layer of the tree was able to produce more cells, making more wood in between rings. If two rings are very close together, then the tree either did not have enough water, the temperature was too cold or too hot, or both, because the cambium layer did not produce as many cells, meaning less wood in between rings.