Fall here at House In The Wood is about two weeks early this year. I always think of Fall as a time to get ready for Winter. And I think of Spring as a time to get ready for Summer. I hope to have a series of getting ready for Winter pictures in the next few posts. The first is plants...
The trees change color as the days shorten and the nights get colder. So what happens when the leaves change color? The green is a pigment called chlorophyll. It is essential for producing the food for the tree from sunlight in a process called photosynthesis. The yellows, orange and brown are always there but the green is so much stronger in summer that you can't see the other colors. However, when the days are shorter, the photosynthesis slows down so there is not so much green and the other colors can show through.
The leaves fall to get the plant ready for the long cold Wisconsin winter. The plants are actually drawing all of their food back into the plant and then even further down deep into the roots so there is enough energy for next Spring. Next Spring, the plant must produce buds and then leaves before it gets to eat again! Remember that the sunlight hits the leaves and the chlorophyll helps it turn into the sugar which is the food for plants.
There is a more DETAILED explanation on my favorite nature site EEK including where the reds come from--it is a special process.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/veg/trees/treestruecolor.htm
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