Deciduous Woodland

Photo my own, all rights reserved

One of the first things I noticed early this autumn was the sound of the leaves changing, growing louder, like a sweet wrapper caught in the breeze. Before I knew it, the trees transformed into living jewels; with leaf sized bars of gold, ruby and amber, then fell as fiery confetti from around mid October. I don't suppose many people think about what happens to those leaves once they hit the ground, but I did. The info is below.

Artwork my own, all rights reserved

Autumn

In the autumn, the trees will get rid of their leaves, for several reasons.

In the warmer weather, trees have a cycle where they take water up from the ground, and as a natural consequence of their large surface area and warm atmosphere, it evaporates. However, this cycle can not go on in the winter when the ground is frozen, as this prevents the trees from taking up enough water. If the trees retained their leaves, they would evaporate more water than they could 'drink'. So deciduous trees have to end the cycle by getting rid of their leaves.

To prevent excessive nutrient loss, trees re-absorb the chlorophyll (green pigment in leaves) back into the trunk to benefit the tree over winter. This is why the trees go red in autumn; the leaves already have the red, yellow, and brown pigments in them, so when the tree takes in the green chlorophyll, they are left with the autumnal colours. (I do like a good bit of science.) It also gets rid of any environmental toxins by putting them in the leaves before dropping them. It sure is a good thing that God created trees so perfectly.

Winter

Now that the leaves have fallen, the trees don't have their leaf-sails on. If you think about it, it would be terrible if trees still had their leaves on through the stormy winter months, since they would topple over, as the leaves would act like a sail, but, unlike a boat, a tree can't just sail away.... that's the problem with roots I guess! But anyway, the leaves fortunately do fall, and they serve another purpose, even when they are decaying and fallen; they serve as a useful frost protection for the ground and (when in a pile) are a perfect hibernation home for hedgehogs. Not only that, but when it rains (as it often does here in England) the leaves prevent leaching, which is where the good topsoil gets washed away by the rain.

Spring

By spring time, the daylight is increasing, signaling to the trees to start growing again. Did you know that trees have flowers? Catkins are one of the first flowers to be produced by trees in early spring, and they are extremely useful to pollinators such as bees. Leaves from the autumn just gone have by now been turned into excellent compost (thanks to the micro-organisms and fungi!), which will support the new growth. Cool 'eh? :)

Summer

By the time summer comes, the trees are in full leaf, which provides food for both the tree (chlorophyll is back where it belongs!), and other organisms too - such as birds, insects, caterpillars etc. Trees provide a food source as well as shade, shelter, nesting materials and are a useful resource for people too. Trees also grow their fruit over the summer, which apart from the obvious (apples, pears etc), includes sweet chestnuts, conkers, birch kernels, and acorns ready for the autumn when creatures need them to fatten up or store away for harder months to come.

Photo my own, all rights reserved.

As you can see, I like trees. No surprise really, I've appreciated trees all my life, and I don't have a favourite time of year for trees. From the bright, fresh greens of spring, to their shade and climbing invitations in the summer, glorious colours in time for my birthday (autumn), to wonderful silhouettes in the winter. And I'm glad they lose their leaves. They have even helped me to learn my left from my right, as there were two big oak trees outside our old house, in the field across the road, one on the left, and one on the right....

I love trees.

Photo my own, all rights reserved