Have you ever wondered what happens inside trees during cold weather? This short post looks into the systems that trees have developed to get through the winter.
The trees all around you may be deciduous, coniferous, or a mix of both. Deciduous trees lose their leaves annually, while coniferous trees – or evergreens as they tend to be called – keep their leaves or needles throughout the year. Some exceptions exist, such as larch and bald cypress trees; these are technically deciduous conifers.
Broad leaf, deciduous trees lose their leaves in fall to conserve water during colder months. The needles of coniferous trees are much better at retaining water so they keep them all year-round.
A tree’s bark is one of its best defenses against the rain and cold. This rough exterior protects the tree from a range of threats, such as disease, pest infestations, fire, and cold. During the winter, tree bark provides insulation for the interior of the tree while also dispersing heat throughout.
Trees go dormant for the winter; this is because they sense the shift in levels of daylight, and at this point that they begin making changes at the cellular level to become more tolerant of cold temperatures. A tree’s metabolism, and other internal processes, also slowdown in order to conserve energy.
Trees have cells that transport water up and down from their roots to their canopies. But in cold temperatures, these cells can be killed if the water they transport freezes. Incredibly, trees have developed a way to keep the water flowing by producing a special kind of protein that allows water to safely freeze in between cells. When the water is drawn out of cells to freeze, the remaining water within the cells becomes a thick, sugary sap. Indeed, sugar maples and a few other species of tree can be tapped for their sap, which when processed turns to maple syrup.
Once spring comes around again, the temperatures rise and the days get longer, the trees reverse these internal processes and return to actively growing.
For more information on trees and foliage, contact Quantum Tree Services.
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