Foliage in August: Persistent heat stresses trees

Created: 08/16/2022, 16:00

By: Joana Lück

The hot and dry summer not only affects humans and animals.

The trees are also stressed and shed their leaves as early as August.

Yellow to orange leaves falling to the ground are not always a sign of fall.

Because the persistent heat in many places stresses the trees, which then shed their leaves.

Foliage in August: Persistent heat stresses trees

Heat and drought will result in scorched leaves.

© Achim Prill/Imago

Anyone who carefully walks through towns, parks or forests will have noticed that many trees are already shedding their leaves, giving the impression that autumn has already arrived.

In fact, it is still summer and only the prolonged dry periods, coupled with temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius, are responsible for the autumnal look of the trees.

This is how the drought makes itself felt:

• According to

  RP Online

  , the tree lives on the back burner when exposed to weeks of heat and drought.

• Trees close the stomata on their leaves to stop evaporation.

  However, this also means that they carry out less photosynthesis.

• The so-called "drought stress" can be compared to the changes in autumn, because the tree gets nitrogen from the withering leaves even during the extreme summer heat and sheds those that produce the least photosynthesis.

• The more precipitation and the fewer nights with frost, the later the autumn colors usually set in for trees.

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If trees are already shedding their leaves, ultimately less oxygen will be produced for humans and nature.

With your own garden trees, you can counteract this with appropriate care, while in nature, younger trees in particular and plants that stand on the river bank react sensitively to the lack of water.

Special climate trees such as the hornbeam, silver linden or crab apple have proven themselves because they can withstand extreme weather conditions.

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