Fall leaves are seen on WashU's Danforth Campus. (Photo: James Byard/Washington University) In a warming climate, spring keeps getting earlier. But the timing of leaf fall in autumn has been more of a mystery. For the first time, a study by researchers including biologist Susanne Renner in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis helps solve this mystery by revealing the pivotal role of the summer solstice. A study published July 7 in Science shows that warming before the solstice triggers an earlier onset of leaf senescence - the process through which plants break down and reabsorb key nutrients that had been deployed in leaves - and declining photosynthesis, while warming that occurs after the solstice slows down the leaf discoloration process.

https://www.miragenews.com/study-looks-at-summer-solstice-effect-1042331/

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