The Science Behind Fall Foliage

We're starting to near the peak of the fall foliage this season, so what exactly causes these amazing colors that we experience every year? One of the main reasons for these beautiful sights are the changes in daylight and nighttime hours. If you haven't noticed yet, the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer, so that affects the chemicals inside all the trees' leafs.

Leaves contain several different pigments, like chlorophyll, which produces the green colors we see in the spring and summer. As we get into the fall, the amount of daylight lessons, so the amount of photosynthesis that occurs within the leaves lessens. This eventually leads to the end of the production of chlorophyll. Because this production shuts down, it allows for its other pigments, like carotenoids and anthocyanins, to appear. These pigments are the ones that create the orange or the red and purple leaves, respectively.

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There are a few other factors that play in the role of beautiful fall foliage, like temperature, humidity, and precipitation, but daylight is the biggest reason for the changing colors of a leaf. Now you know the science behind fall foliage!

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