There are all the same kind of trees along the towpath along the Leie, all trees are still green with leaves, but in a certain place 10 trees are already completely yellow in color with one in between that is also completely green. I don’t think the sun or shadow can play a role because they are all in the same zone. Every day when I sit on the bench across the Leie, I ask myself what the cause is.
Answer
Dear Maurice,
Trees from a plantation often have the same origin. In other words, they come from the same culture (often also 1 single mother plant) and therefore have similar genetic material.
The moment of leaf fall and leaf discoloration is partly genetically determined and often represents an adaptation of a specific population to a geographical region. So if you plant a tree from Poland next to a tree of the same species from France, you will see that the moment of leaf discoloration can differ slightly between the two.
Presumably within a few years after the planting of the relevant row of trees along the slate, 1 tree died and was replaced by a new tree that did not originate from the same culture.
Answered by
drs. Marc Reynders
Biology, systematics and evolution of seed plants. Specialized in tropical Cyperaceae.
http://www.ugent.be
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