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DEP: Climate Change Could Dull Fall Foliage Displays In Penn’s Woods

Half a century after Pennsylvania’s own Rachel Carson warned of a “Silent Spring” caused by the dangers of DDT to birds, add the threat of a “Dull Fall” in Penn’s Woods to the growing list of potential effects of climate change.

Climate change is disrupting the timing of natural cycles, such as trees’ emergence from dormancy, leaf development, and blooming, according to a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources report.

Weather patterns beginning in spring and extending into fall combine to determine the timing, duration, and beauty of the annual fall foliage display.

“It can get very complicated, and it can have negative impacts to the vibrancy of the foliage,” said Kerry Campbell, Environmental Program Manager in DEP’s Energy Programs Office.

DEP has developed a Climate Action Plan with 19 strategies and over 100 actions that state and local government leaders can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Excess rainfall or drought, high or low temperatures, frost, and other factors that are influenced by climate change all interplay each year to create the conditions for a stunning multicolored display or a seasonal letdown.

For example, a dry, hot summer caused by rising temperatures and disrupted rainfall patterns can result in browning and early leaf drop.

Climate change can also make the environment more hospitable for diseases and invasive insects. Fighting these threats can further stress and weaken trees, affecting fall foliage.

The composition of Pennsylvania’s forests (and their variety of fall colors) may also change, as some tree species decrease, and others increase in response to climate shifts.

"In ecology, everything is connected,” said Chris Firestone, a plant botanist with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “Climate change can impact small things that we don’t think about, and we don’t always know how those things may play out.”

To learn more about climate change impacts in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s Climate Change and the Climate Change in PA Story Map webpages.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Click Here to sign up for DEP’s monthly newsletter, sign up for DEP Connects events, sign up for DEP’s eNotice, visit DEP’s Blog, Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

(Reprinted from October DEP News & Views newsletter. Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

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