January 11, 2009 - Parchment Pennants

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

Like bits of dried parchment rattling in the winter breeze, American beech leaves cling to twigs long after leaves of other deciduous trees have fallen. Why beeches, and to some extent oaks, retain their leaves through the winter is not completely understood. Deciduous trees shed their leaves to prevent excess water loss when water is frozen and unavailable. Without leaves to hold heavy, wet snow, there is less likelihood that the weight will break branches. Why are beeches so different? Perhaps the old leaves help protect new buds from severe cold or even browsing animals. Or by dropping their leaves in early spring, beeches provide a shot of nutrients to the soil around their roots as these leaves decompose. Whatever the reason, the rattle of dry beech leaves in a winter wind is an unmistakable sound in a dormant forest.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.