Autumn Transition and aspen tree biology
The group of aspen trees at the top of the ridge have already dropped their leaves (read below why they do this in groups). The aspens nestled around these spruce trees will drop their leaves within a few days. I took this photo yesterday while in Big Cottonwood Canyon (a few miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah).
Aspen Tree Biology Lesson: Aspen trees propagate mainly by root suckers. In many cases, large groves or colonies of aspens are actually one huge plant. This is why different patches or groves of aspens will have the same coloration and drop their leaves at the same time. Although individual trees in the colony may only live for 40-150 years, the root system of the colony is long-lived. In some cases, this is for thousands of years, sending up new trunks as the older trunks die off above ground. One such colony in Utah, given the nickname of "Pando", is claimed to be 80,000 years old --the oldest known living organism on earth. The colony is considered one plant, and its estimated collective weight of 6,000 tonnes (6,615 tons) makes it the heaviest known organism on earth.
Autumn Transition and aspen tree biology
The group of aspen trees at the top of the ridge have already dropped their leaves (read below why they do this in groups). The aspens nestled around these spruce trees will drop their leaves within a few days. I took this photo yesterday while in Big Cottonwood Canyon (a few miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah).
Aspen Tree Biology Lesson: Aspen trees propagate mainly by root suckers. In many cases, large groves or colonies of aspens are actually one huge plant. This is why different patches or groves of aspens will have the same coloration and drop their leaves at the same time. Although individual trees in the colony may only live for 40-150 years, the root system of the colony is long-lived. In some cases, this is for thousands of years, sending up new trunks as the older trunks die off above ground. One such colony in Utah, given the nickname of "Pando", is claimed to be 80,000 years old --the oldest known living organism on earth. The colony is considered one plant, and its estimated collective weight of 6,000 tonnes (6,615 tons) makes it the heaviest known organism on earth.