Leaves fall from trees in August as trees go into survival mode

2022-08-20

Brown Britain: Leaves fall from trees in August in ‘false autumn’ as stressed trees go into survival mode in bid to make it through drought

Leigh Hunt, of the Royal Horticultural Society, said this ‘false autumn’ is a rather sign that trees are stressed
He said the apparent season change is false and that it’s trees going into survival mode to survive the drought
Extreme heat and lack of water have caused the leaves to drop off early despite it still officially being summer

As the brown and orange leaves crunch underfoot you would be forgiven for thinking Autumn had arrived early.

But experts have said fall’s August appearance is rather a sign that the heatwave and drought has pushed trees into survival mode and brought on a ‘false autumn’.

Extreme temperatures and lack of water have caused ‘stressed’ leaves to drop off early, despite the fact summer is not due to officially end until September 23.

Leigh Hunt, senior horticultural advisor at the Royal Horticultural Society, said early leaf fall and auburn leaves are both signs that trees are stressed and ‘shutting up shop’.

Extreme temperatures and lack of water have caused ‘stressed’ leaves to drop off early, despite the fact summer is not due to officially end until September 23, causing a ‘false autumn’

Leigh Hunt, senior horticultural advisor at the Royal Horticultural Society, said early leaf fall and auburn leaves are both signs that trees are stressed and ‘shutting up shop’

He said it’s giving the appearance that we are already in autumn but the days are too long for those natural autumn processes to begin and that in his 45 years this is one of the most severe years he has seen regarding tree damage.

‘Physiologically, the plants are not responding to autumn conditions; that’s why we term it loosely as “false autumn”,’ he added.

Mr Hunt continued by saying that some trees may die as a result, as more established trees have a network of roots and can withstand drought, unlike younger ones, the BBC reported.

He explained that trees with only a little yellowing of the leaves should survive and recover with rainfall but there’s a ‘critical point’ for some where the tree cannot replenish the water lost and will dry up.

During extreme weather conditions such as the ones seen recently, some trees produce extra seeds to try to reproduce and survive.

If there is a substantial amount of rain, Mr Hunt said it was possible we might see a ‘second spring’ as trees have an extra growth spurt.

Mr Hunt said that some trees may die as a result, as more established trees have a network of roots and can withstand drought, unlike younger ones

Another sign of unpredictable weather can be berries appearing on plants and shrubs.

A conservation charity that records seasonal changes received its earliest ever sighting of blackberries on June 28.

Fritha West, from the Woodland Trust, said: ‘The record-breaking heat we have just experienced has helped bring on a number of early autumn events,

‘We have received some of our earliest ever ripe blackberry records from the south of England. Hawthorn and rowan are also ripening early in some parts of the country, where early leaf tinting has also been observed.’

Source: Read Full Article