Botanist says he can’t remember a fallwhen he didn’t enjoy nature’s dazzling display
Edward Dix, who has worked as a botanist for the state’s Bureau of Forestry for the past 11 years, can’t remember a fall season in Pennsylvania when he didn’t enjoy nature’s dazzling color display. And despite this year’s drought conditions, Dix said he believes Pennsylvania residents and visitors will see captivating shades of yellow, orange, red and purple paint the landscape as the leaves begin to change color in a breathtaking autumn show.
“I’ve spent most of the last 51 years in Pennsylvania, and I can’t remember a year when I didn’t enjoy the color,” Dix said during a recent telephone interview from his Harrisburg office. “The best way to enjoy the autumn color is if you visit a state park. You can see the color reflected off a lake on a beautiful sunny day, and the scene is simply breathtaking.”
Although Dix has heard television news reports predicting that this fall isn’t going to be as beautiful in Pennsylvania because of ongoing drought conditions, he isn’t convinced that’s going to happen.
“Based on the science of leaves changing colors, I can’t make a determination that this year’s drought will affect the fall foliage that much,” he said. “The drought shouldn’t affect the timing or the intensity of the overall color. Some trees are turning brown and dropping their leaves earlier than usual, which will have some impact on this year’s foliage. We are losing a number of the leaves on ornamental trees to the drought.”
However, Dix said the forest trees will have an easier time surviving the drought conditions than the ornamental trees. Some of the trees in the forest are 80 to 100 years old, which means they survived a six-year drought during the 1930s.
“Trees in the forest are not affected by road salt and other factors that impact ornamental trees in yards or along streets,” he said. “The grass in people’s yards soaks up the moisture that falls from light rain, and that affects the ornamental trees. I recommend that people take a drive and look at the forested hillsides if they really want to enjoy this year’s fall foliage.”
Marc Abrams, professor of forest ecology and physiology in Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, said he is worried that weather conditions will threaten the vibrancy of the state’s fall foliage display.
Abrams said he is especially concerned that the severe drought conditions in central and southeastern Pennsylvania will take a toll on this year’s foliage.
“The fact is that we’re already seeing the effects of the drought on the fall foliage in those parts of the state,” Abrams said. “We have seen leaves changing from green to brown on a number of trees. There are brown leaves falling down from the trees, and other leaves that are looking quite wilted. Because of that, we will probably have a below average display in those parts of the state this year. Every tree will not be available to show its color in the peak period, which is usually the middle of October.”
However, Abrams said several factors, including rain and a normal fall cool-down period, could improve fall foliage conditions.
“Even today (Friday, Sept. 20) we are still having some warmer than normal temperatures,” Abrams said. “We need evenings with temperatures in the low 40s, but we don’t need hard frost because that will damage the foliage.”
The fall foliage is expected to reach its peak on Oct. 20 in southwestern Pennsylvania, where 4 percent of the color was already showing earlier this week, according to Dix. The season’s peak usually occurs the first week in October in northern Pennsylvania counties.
The amount and brilliance of the colors that develop in any particular autumn season are related to weather conditions that occur before and during the time the chlorophyll in the leaves is dwindling. Temperature and moisture are the main influences.
Dix said a succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to create the most spectacular color displays. During these days, lots of sugars are produced in the leaf but the cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going into the leaf prevent these sugars from moving out.
Red maple and sugar maple trees produce bright red colors during the fall season, Dix said. Other species, including hickories and oaks, create russet browns and yellows.
“But all of the leaves don’t turn colors at the same time,” he said. “The maples turn first, and then the oaks and hickories begin to change colors a little later. There are 108 species of trees in the forests, but the biggest percentage is the maples and the oaks that produce a background of the color.”
Dix said Pennsylvania’s location and its broad mix of trees makes it ones of the most spectacular places for fall foliage.
“Tree species that are more common in the south like magnolias and southern red oaks reach their northern limit in Pennsylvania,” he said. “Other tree species that are more common in the north reach the southern limit of their range in Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania also has an advantage over Canada and the New England states, where the fall foliage season is shorter because severe weather sets in earlier, Dix said.
“We have a little milder transition from fall into winter in Pennsylvania, and our fall foliage season tends to last a little longer,” he said. “In the entire world, the best places to see fall foliage are in the eastern United States and eastern Asia, including China and Japan. It’s really unique to our area and China. We have a special gift in Pennsylvania.”
Two of Pennsylvania’s most popular seasonal resources, www.fallinpa.com and 1-800-FALL-In-PA, are ready to assist foliage seekers with their search for the best and brightest foliage. Both the Web site and the fall hotline have served as excellent resources for travelers planning an autumn trip to Pennsylvania.
The six digital cameras accessed through the Web site are positioned at viewpoints overlooking state parks and forest across Pennsylvania. Driving tours are also featured on the Web site. This feature allows potential visitors to obtain more than 30 scenic driving routes that best showcase Pennsylvania’s beautiful fall foliage.