This does have real implications in dendrochronology. If you were to take a beam from a structure built hundreds or even thousands of years ago, you can use ring spacing along with climate records of the area it was cut down in to determine when it was cut down, which will tell you the approximate age of the structure (and as a result, the tree). The rings can reflect events such as floods, fires, droughts, and periods of rapid growth, so if you can match those up with climate records and known samples, it works out the way the graphic describes.