"Hectic Beauty of Death"
With a final farewell to summer, Autumn delights our senses with a colorful display of color that signals nature's transition to winter.
Autumn foliage is synonymous with New England, and it brings people from far and away to marvel at nature’s colorful palette—even for those of us who live here, it never gets old as we New Englanders embrace it as a kind of consolation prize for the misery the approaching winter will likely bring. Photo: Tyringham, MA, 2013.
Between March 20 (the vernal equinox) and September 22 (the autumnal equinox) a process unfolds in deciduous (leaf shedding) trees and shrubs that causes their leaves to go from deep green to various shades of yellow, orange, and red. The intensity and variety of color is determined by the amount of sunlight and moisture received within that period of time. Photo: Tyringham, MA, 2013
At the end of the process, around the autumnal equinox, bright warm days and cool nights yield the most brilliant colors, while rainy days contribute toward the dullest. Those who live closest to the equator never experience autumn because of its temperate climate. Photo: "Ashintully", Tyringham, MA, 2013.
Even though New England receives a lot of attention for its fall foliage, it’s the southern Appalachians that have the longest and most varied display of colors. Photo: Old South Hadley Cemetery, South Hadley, MA, 2013.
Chlorophyll generates the green color in leaves during photosynthesis—the conversion of sunlight into food for a plant. When the exposure to sunlight wanes with the shortening of daylight hours, the chlorophyll levels also decrease, exposing the true color of the leaves. Photo: Northampton, MA, 2016.
Carotenoids and anthocyanins are pigments responsible for the yellow and red colors observed in autumn leaves. Carotenoids are always present but are hidden until the chlorophyll degrades, while anthocyanins are produced in the fall revealing deep orange and red tones. Photo: Smith College, Northampton, MA, 2014.
Covering a section of a tree’s leaves with a black mask during photosynthesis causes those leaves to become bright yellow, while the sun-exposed leaves appear green. If a tree is denied photosynthesis its leaves will eventually turn brown and die—not unlike what takes place by the end of fall. Photo: Mill River, Northampton, MA, 2015.
A tree that grows alongside water is no more likely to change color earlier than the same variety of tree located at the top of a hill. Many factors, including genetic variation, contribute to when a tree will change color. For instance, a compromised tree will turn before its healthier counterpart. It’s the combination of dropping temperatures and chlorophyll levels that places the leaves under a type of stress, leading to the end of their lifecycle. Photo: Paradise Pond, Smith College, Northampton, MA, 2015.
Scientists suspect that increased temperatures caused by global warming may confuse trees, suppressing the release of anthocyanins, resulting in primarily muted tints of yellow, and postponing autumn leaf color. This year’s foliage appears to fit that description! Photo: Mill River, Northampton, MA, 2015.
Nature, it seems, does nothing without a purpose, and fall foliage is no exception. Although we would like to think that the autumn colors exist for our viewing pleasure, the process is manifold. For instance, when robust with green leaves during the late spring and summer, trees can withstand a certain amount of parasitic activity, but, as the seasonal shift takes place and trees begin to transition into dormancy they can no longer maintain a host role, and the bright colors essentially serve to discourage insects from nesting. In addition, the eventual leaf shedding resulting at the end of autumn allows trees to bear the snow and ice loads during the winter.
Photo: Northampton, MA, 2016
But nature’s intention aside, superstition has it that every falling leaf you catch gives you a lucky month in the coming year…so, go outside and grab some good fortune!
All photos by Tankful Travels.