The famous autumn in the northeastern United States, which transforms tree leaves into a multicolored palette of reds, oranges and yellows, could be in the past, warn experts who note that climate change is reducing colors and delaying their peak.
Warmer temperatures and heavier rainfall keep leaves green longer, while extreme weather events such as heat waves and storms destroy trees before their time, according to conservationists.
“Climate change is making this fall color festival more difficult,” Andy Finton, a forest ecologist who works for the Massachusetts Nature Conservation organization, told AFP.
Several factors combine to turn leaves into vivid color each October in states like New England, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.
A perfect combination of heat and precipitation is needed in the summer, followed by sunny days and cool nights, when the days start to shorten to break down the chlorophyll, revealing yellow and orange pigments.
But what bothers botanists most is the complicated process by which the leaves produce sugar, which creates red pigments in leaves such as eucalyptus.
Warmer days and nights and cloudy skies due to increased rainfall are slowing photosynthesis, threatening the bright colors tourists love so much.
“What you’ll see are more opaque colors,” says Finton.
– Pests and diseases –
Forest color change tourism is big business in the northeast. Each year, it generates $300 million for Vermont’s economy, according to official data.
In the fall, more than 500 people visit Polly’s Pancake Parlor in New Hampshire every day to marvel at the explosion of color in the White Mountains.
The restaurant records the date the leaves change color since 1970.
“Autumn is a big part of our business and customers often ask when is the best time to visit,” said owner Kathie Cote, “very concerned” about climate change.
In addition, higher temperatures and humidity are helping invasive pests and diseases to spread further, according to Pete Smith, director of an urban forestry program at the Arbor Day Foundation.
“There is nothing worse for autumn colors than a dead tree,” he told AFP.
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