There's One Thing About Fall Colors Scientists Can't Explain

[@AbhishekKumar-vp7ey]

PBS is Joy.

[@pbsterra]

Thank you Matt Damon we’re big Good Will Hunting fans

[@AbhishekKumar-vp7ey]

@@pbsterra 😄 Happy Diwali you guys. May your lives be full of Light, Happiness and may Rama bless you all.

[@pamelapilling6996]

Being in eastern Canada during the height of fall colours is one if my bucket list experiences.

[@andresp.1774]

You'll want to move after seeing such beauty!

[@michellem3050]

Me too, but timing it it the hard trick, especially now as climate is less stable.

[@ouagadougou62]

Yes, it's amazing. i grew up in Quebec, the colours are amazing. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the fall colours since 1987. Now i can see some different ones in Northern Japan

[@rug212]

Did anyone else catch the leaf “falling” up and reattaching itself? 5:20

[@pbsterra]

FALL MYSTERIES! 🍁

[@SeanOHanlon]

The red color comes from Anthocyanins. They are a group of polyphenolic pigments that are ubiquitously found in the plant kingdom. In plants, anthocyanins play a role not only in reproduction, by attracting pollinators and seed dispersers, but also in protection against various abiotic and biotic stresses. This is why maple leaves turn red in the fall.

[@Alexander-is9jo]

Hey PBS Terra team. Your videos make my day. Have you guys consider making podcasts out of this videos? With a little bit of editing (and I mean really little) this videos could make amazing short podcasts. The idea came out because I watched this video two times today. First time I was making lunch and mostly listened. Enjoyed both ways of content.

[@MichaelWernerMedia]

Great idea Alexander! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@naveenraj2008eee]

Hi team Joe voice adds flavor to this series.. Never heard of leaf peeper word.. Thanks pbs terra for another great video..🙏👍

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

It's Joe's voice, a possessive, grammatically speaking, rofl. Hope you're not home-schooling anyone above the 3rd-grade level, lol!

[@joelwillems4081]

They are usually just called Leafers and not Leaf Peepers.

[@domitron]

The last little bit of hopium wasn't necessary (nor really accurate), but I loved the rest of it. I do get why we must not accept our climate change fate, though. Mostly because it totally sucks, but the way I see it isn't quite like said in the show. As climate change ramps up, I do think our kids will have bigger fish to fry than missing our brilliantly-colored fall leaves (you know, like survival).

[@joelwillems4081]

The last global warm period was a boom time for most of humanity. It was the Renaissance and Age of Exploration. The Little Ice Age was far worse for all but those living on the Equator.

[@mikerotch7606]

I’m a Vermonter! Always glad to see my little green state get some good exposure

[@90klh]

I used to live in Vermont, it was beautiful and i miss the fall colors. Im in Arkansas now, and it's mostly brown. Winters here are soggy grey affairs that are depressing

[@SolaceEasy]

Thanks for no interstitial ads

[@lmelior]

Definitely could have a better title, but thumbs up for the gorgeous video with top notch production.

[@LisaBeergutHolst]

Sweet, sweet clickbait 😄

[@grahamsawyer831]

first thing i watched today - brilliant. thank you PBS!

[@yadiaag7771]

In Washington state we are getting late fall too. But we have beautifully colored trees but mostly tons of trees that are ever green.

[@j3tztbassman123]

As a native Yankee, I can tell you that the weather has gotten weird. Snowfall has dropped off, and avain migration patterns have changed.

[@ProGentleman]

I loved the dialogue. "Wow, them sure are some leaves with colors on that there tree." "Oh yeah, and how about that weather, eh?" "I know, right?" 😂

[@Chichi-sl2mq]

Beautiful. Just breathtaking.

[@BharynnD]

My hypothesis is: For the thousands of years that they've coexisted together, humans have been selectively breeding sugar maples that are prettier or "more red" in the fall because they are more visually pleasing to us.

[@Electronic424]

That wouldn't explain the remote places that have the same pattern of colors, human were never able to cut every tree down or reforest that many areas.

[@BharynnD]

@@Electronic424 I'm pretty sure the insects that help pollinate sugar maples are capable of flying from where the prettier trees that humans selected for existed, to the remote areas you are referring to, and helping spread the prettier genes I am referring to all around wherever these trees were and are. Considering that humans have been in North America for at least 6000 years I don't think thats too much of a stretch, but I am not an evolutionary biologist yet and my hypothesis is probably un-testable since the leaves degrade back into soil every year and any type of fossil record to corroborate this proposed gradual change is extremely unlikely

[@fingiess]

red changes the way trees reflects heat

[@fingiess]

this is copied from Bill Mollisons article called "TREES: Guardians of the Earth" Reddish-coloured leaves, such as developed in some vines and shrubs, reflect chiefly red light rays. Sharp decreases in temperature may result by interposing reddish foliage between a thermometer and the sun, up to 20° C (36° F) lower than with green pigmented plants (Daubenmire, 1974). Whitish plants such as wormwood and birch may reflect 85% of incoming light, whereas the dark leaves of shade plants may reflect as little as 2%. It follows that white or red-coloured roof vines over tiles may effectively lower summer temperatures within buildings or in trellis systems. Additional cooling is effected by fitting fine water sprays and damp mulch systems under a trellis, thus creating a cool area of dense air by evaporation. This effect is of great use in moderating summer heat in buildings, and for proviidng cool air sources to draw from by induced cross-ventifilation.

[@gaillewis5472]

What baffles me it that saplings produced from fallen seeds of an old tree all have different colors in the fall. Our sassafras trees are red and gold and sometimes both on the same tree. Beautiful but odd.

[@t-bonejones3576]

Fall looks nice. But symbolizes death. Pretty, but depressing. I am much more of a spring guy

[@SanicTheHidgehag]

If they have the same people "coming to a consensus" about whether leaves have changed to an autumn state, doesn't that leave room for the opinions of the team to skew over time? Such a survey doesn't seem effective at controlling for the team members' acclimation to the fall colors that might be caused by them focusing on leaf colors in autumn more often than in other parts of the year. A more effective survey should use a more objective means of evaluating the leaf colors.

[@AdricM]

Ive always wondered if they don't have the additional benefit of bouncing more yellow/orange light back up to the remaining green leaves as a sort of reflector blanket to scatter the light to the less chilled leaves.

[@Statosphere62]

Whoa this channel has insanely high production quality

[@gamtngirl3655]

Truly one of my favorite things in the world. But be careful how you assume we have decades before climate change seriously affects fall colors.

[@noeldenever]

Whoa what a visual treat, and lovely narration by doc joe. Thank you very much pbs terra ❤❤❤ As relaxing as this video though...I don't want people to take a breath and calm down when they find out this beauty is threatened by climate change. I want us to panic. Our house is on fire. Everybody, from individuals to corporations and nations, needs to make a change to minimize the effect. We have a bigger chance of success if we see climate change as an immediate issue instead of a faraway concept.

[@haileywarner5109]

I seriously love this channel. You all are doing great work!!

[@ceooflonelinessinc.267]

PBSTerra thank you for providing us this free videos. I have no access to PBS in my country so I watch it here on KZbin.

[@renlysotherlover294]

The leaves definitely changed late this year it was weird to be in late october and still see green everywhere.

[@matthew3114]

Dam, I want to go to Vermont just to walk in those beautiful forests. Those views are absolutely stunning,

[@feeberizer]

It's like saying the sky doesn't go dark because the sun goes down. The sun fills the sky with photons so that we see blue because of our atmosphere instead of the black of space. But leaves do change from live to dead.

[@raahulpooran]

Love these type of videos, keep up the good work.

[@0HARE]

Thanks for another great episode. It was fascinating, informative, and beautiful.

[@sethrojango5672]

Great video to start my day with my plate of eggs and coffee. Thank you !

[@iamgodzilla653]

Autumn is the most beautiful season of the year

[@ooooneeee]

I'm collecting the most colourful leaves. Yellow, pink, red, violet, dark red. They're works of art.They don't last long, but they brighten my days 😌🍁.

[@Iamblack34]

I love seeing it. Here in ontario I go leaf watching as well

[@rhiannonbrown6390]

That intro music reminded me of Morrowind. Had to go find the sound track...over the hill -about halfway through the song.

[@rafaeldasilva6247]

Who is the author?

[@tfsheahan2265]

It has been alleged that 45 degrees F, is the tipping point. When overnight lows reach there, or below, that is a trigger.

[@windlessoriginals1150]

Thank you

[@jakobraahauge7299]

Oh, that is beautiful speak Mr Hanson! Oosh! You made me blush! 🤭

[@urbanwarchief]

I think seasonal burning is okay if done correctly and safely however most urban folk frown upon it

[@kimopuppy]

Hear in San Diego the leaves turn a yechy greyish brown with a dash of color

[@johrathbun]

One of the few things i miss about the East Coast. ❤️

[@PhysicsPolice]

1:00 "Technically, the leaves don't change colors." False. The loss of chlorophyll exposes other pigments. The pigments didn't change colors. But, due to the change in ratio of pigments in their tissues, the *leaves* did change colors. Your false claim is dishonest and condescends to the viewer. Stop mystery mongering and just tell us the science. You easily could have just said "The leaves change colors because they like to recycle" or something like that and been both technically correct, and still do foreshadowing.

[@МихайлоСєльський]

Looks like that dubious passage was included just to mock and annoy pedantic people. And yes, make the viewer to feel foolish. And get more comments too)

[@PhysicsPolice]

@@МихайлоСєльський I don’t think it’s on purpose. Just bad writing. Who knows.

[@leokaloper4132]

Excellent video. Hey leave peepers, enjoy it up above over there.

[@adrienneclarke3953]

What nutrients are in the leaves that fall to the ground? Does the tree dropping the leaves expect the leaves would then leave those nutrients in the ground? To be used by them?

[@coolhead8686]

The intensity of the sun ray is less in fall and winter. That causes photosynthesis to drop drastically.

[@kaylabrand7403]

Thank you! I didn't realize the red was produced in the fall and I was wondering how chlorophyll could possibly mask such a bright red.

[@johnchapman2599]

Explaination for leaf senescence, aka. leaf reddening in late fall. "The Photosynthetic process in chlorophyll alpha absorbs heavily in the Red & Blue spectrum. Thus the healthy leaf in, summertime reflects green & thus will appear Green. With the progression of fall , as mentioned in the narrative, the Chlorophyll degrades. Whereupon, when tracking the transformation of same leaf in Peak Season this leaf will no longer absorb so much of the red end of spectrum . Therefore the Appearance changes whilst now Reflecting much more of red portion of spectrum !

[@johnchapman2599]

Kayla. The absorption spectrum of chlorophyll changes with fall senescence .

[@yfrontsguy]

I have heard that tannins are to slow down non mycorhizal fungal decomposition to give the tree roots to have more time to absorb the leaves nutrients. Maybe it is the part of the reason for anthocyanins?

[@mrjonesyyy]

It always saddens me to know I'll never get to see the American Chestnut, The Redwood of the East, at it's peak...

[@laughinggiraffe9176]

Minute Earth had an explanation for the reds. Once the chlorophyl is removed in the fall, the sunlight's energy can damage the leaves because the chlorophyl is no longer there to channel the sun's energy to perform photosynthesis. The red colors comes from anthocyanins, which are manufactured to protect the leaf from damage.

[@theseventhgeneration6910]

It's really quite simple. These colorations attract migrating birds, mammals and insects. Every species shares a symbiosis.

[@jakobraahauge7299]

The insect deterrence theory explains why the trees native to Northern Europe turn yellow - aphids can't cross the Alps We import ornamental trees from North America and East Asia just to see their leaves turn red in fall 😊 blushing trees are beautiful! Loads of love from Denmark 🤗

[@rafaeldasilva6247]

Hey guys, what is the name of the "end credits" music? It is awesome!

[@tougs]

Loving the series! Does anyone know what song is on after around 4 minutes?

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

Just Google it, ok, or click the links below, duh! Contact PBS directly? Uh, that's always an option... ugh!

[@MichaelWernerMedia]

Hi Touko, thanks for asking and for watching. The song in question is called Northern Exposure. The composers are Marius De La Mer, Ron Foley, and Tom Whitehorse.

[@SolaceEasy]

Whirrr! Zzuhhhh-zzzzzzuh!Weeeeeeee! The new sounds of autumn on PBS.

[@arislopes1924]

There’s no mystery on this happening all over the temperate and most subtropical parts of the world. Plants are getting rdy for winter so they suck all the nutrients from their leaves to survive. Other deciduous trees on hot tropical climates do the same but they loose their leaves to get ready for summer and the dry season instead so they’ll absorb all the nutrients they got left

[@mountainfisher4183]

Answer To Question On 5:11 Is, Fuel Exhaust Is What Is Driving This, You Know The Stuff That Kill,s, And Comes Out Of Your Car/Truck's Tail Pipe.

[@joseenoel8093]

I am a chick forest technician from French Canada 🇨🇦! Do you know what is the 1st thing a tree 🌳 makes in the spring? Next yrs leaves!

[@John-tq4bf]

I was given to understand it was mostly about the iron content of the soil.

[@unfixablegop]

"Mother Nature in reverse" was actually a pretty good explanation.

[@jadedrealist]

What about the wavelength of red light. Couldn't they be switching it up to get the most of long wave energy just before going into hibernation?

[@johnchapman2599]

Explaination for leaf senescence, aka. leaf reddening in late fall. "The Photosynthetic process in chlorophyll alpha absorbs heavily in the Red & Blue spectrum. Thus the healthy leaf in, summertime reflects green & thus will appear Green. With the progression of fall , as mentioned in the narrative, the Chlorophyll degrades. Whereupon, when tracking the transformation of same leaf in Peak Season this leaf will no longer absorb so much of the red end of spectrum . Therefore the Appearance changes whilst now Reflecting much more of red portion of spectrum !

[@zackh7292]

You guys could cover the predator-pray experiments on Isle Royale.

[@MichaelWernerMedia]

Thanks Zach! Great idea!

[@banjoman101145]

It’s Mother Nature blushing while she disrobes.

[@raphlvlogs271]

new England has so many deciduous trees because of the lack of natural wild fires.

[@davidschoenfeld4463]

Since red is a low energy wavelength, is it possible that producing it also makes the process of light absorption more efficient during this time? Has anyone ever checked?

[@epauletshark3793]

Did joe get a nap since the 7 day week video?

[@3BlueHaze]

so if i remove red from purple and get blue, i can say that its the same color cuz the red has always been there. thats the kind of logic they use here for the leaves color "not changeing".

[@Sgt-Gravy]

We used to fill Halloween decorations with fall leaves & not so much anymore...

[@thetommantom]

It's all random and so many variables

[@samyoungblood3740]

Madison Indiana looks the same

[@markogronfors3826]

Basic Biology in school .We called that time Ruska

[@ericolens3]

When I was a young kid learning about the seasons. I looked for RED a lot but only really found green, fading to yellow (not the true yellow) and BROWN. Even as a kid I learned the conifer and deciduous were different due to pines being TALL and green year round. But magnolias had beautiful smelling flowers. Also its a pain to rake leaves and pine trees dont shed like a deciduous tree just that mulch skirt it makes for itself. I live in Louisiana so planst go with our history due to agriculture being so versatile here. Sometimes I wish I had a time machine to jump 20 years at a time to see the ebb and flow of tree species becoming more and less dominant in an area. The only trend I know now is acres being razed to develop new subdivisions. Then the short-term influx of wildlife as their homes a destroyed and they get displaced into the highways to unfortunately become roadkill overnight. Only to be seen the next morning on the side of the road. Or a mildly lighter note seeing foxes and other animals trigger the Ring camera. But we're building 3 new subdivisions by my home and a diversion canal from one river to be diverted to another one. Over a 8 to 12 mile route and the width to accommodate that diversion system too. I mean, I love urban growth but we'll see where this project will lead us in a few years.

[@thetommantom]

I would imagine it's light shift and a way to capture the last little bit of sun then sucks them dry uses water and grows roots then take that energy and make leaves

[@samyoungblood3740]

Hope air pollution or soil toxins don’t affect the colors.

[@infinitemonkey917]

You mean there is still time to enjoy the foliage before it's too late.

[@smanasalam]

Quebec and Ontario are even better.

[@elicarroll9978]

Idk why I thought everyone had leaves like this? I guess that’s on never living outside of RI

[@amyloria8104]

It's disappointing to hear you bluff that "we won't see effects of climate change until many decades from now!" Realistic predictions are essential to communicate the reality and immediacy of climate change.

[@demoncloud6147]

Well, I watched this with cold ice-cream

[@danielm.1441]

Maybe the red pigment isn't for the tree but for critters in the soil that benefit the tree? Be that bugs/fungi/microbes.

[@phoule76]

An Ent moot needs to be called to see what can be done about global warming.

[@bilahn1198]

Thanks to Republicans we may not even have fall foliage by the end of the century. Here in Minnesota severe summer drought in the North made leaves change early and were very poor in quality. It wasn't as bad here in Southern Minnesota but in late September and early October we had a long period of extremely warm nights and humid. We eventually did have some very nice fall color but it was very late, lingering well into November in the city, which is not at all usual.

[@vancepomerening4794]

Cheese Louise! I learned this in Second Grade!

[@adamwallace8082]

Why are oak trees the last to drop their leaves??

[@reNNDinclusus]

Edit: Yes, I see that you've changed the video title. Your claim is still made at 1:00 that "leaves don't change colour." 1:27 -- Trees get the signal to degrade their chlorophyll (green pigment), and then you see the colour of other compounds because of the lack of green. So they were so green you could only see the green, and then they're no longer green... so you see... not green. 2:03 -- The red pigments get synthesized. So, thank you guys for the clickbaity pedantics. There are pigment/pigment balance changes that make us see other colours. THE PIGMENTS CHANGE, therefore THE COLOURS WE SEE CHANGE. That's generally how this shit works. To say that there is no colour change in autumn leaves is akin to saying that there are no colours, and that we just perceive a visual difference in light where there's a difference of wavelengths that make it to our retinas. Uh, yeah pal, that's how colours happen. Your argument is scientifically correct, but still insufferably pointless. And it certainly doesn't mean colloquial descriptions of the phenomenon are wrong.

[@jwinthepro]

No one likes smart asses. Go to another channel please.

[@danriddick914]

I agree with you reNNDinclusus, it's super clickbaity... but the tone of your comment is WAY overly aggressive... chill out.

[@reNNDinclusus]

@@danriddick914 Sans context, it sure would look that way. I'm just getting frustrated with these videos that seem like they're going to blow my mind, and it terms out that they're really just making an inaccurate claim that isn't borne out by the video's explanation. This is problematic because: 1) I, like many, have very little time. I try to be mindful of how I spend it. It sucks that it's wasted by channels I regarded as reputable, because they're so damn desperate for my attention that they'll twist up literally any statement they can to make it look like they've got something to challenge my view of the world. This has happened numerous times and I would like them to know this. 2) Some people just look at titles and headlines and parrot that nonsense. In this case it would be innocuous at worst, but keep in mind that this network of channels also covers information on medical breakthroughs and nutrition studies -- things that could, and have, become dangerous when only part of the story is told and taken as gospel. I do not want them to be responsible for that garbage, and it actually hurts my respect for them that I can see their priorities shift away from accuracy and toward raking in the views. Again, allow me to stress that I've seen them do this before and I would like to get that message across so they can maybe reconsider their actions.

[@reNNDinclusus]

@@jwinthepro Eight people disagree with you so far.

[@danriddick914]

​@@reNNDinclusus Fair enough - in that context I absolutely understand your frustration. Totally agree that this video and many others could easily be taken out of context because of their clickbaityness - and sadly, I'm sure they commonly are. Thanks for taking the time to give that perspective; I completely agree with both points.

[@brunaguidinisantos8777]

Video: What could cause... Me: Is it climate change? Video: It’s climate change.

[@bobyoung1698]

Why all those leaves end up in my yard?

[@tyquanfleming8554]

Nicole vs talia

[@harayaespadrilles6108]

Leaf peeper is too uwu! 🍁

[@Trag-zj2yo]

But the north pole will be a vacation destination.

[@DPR-GENX]

LoL at this clip @ 4:57 of a woman raking leaves away from the pile and kids raking air. Anyone else notice stupid clips like this in videos where people are just pretending to do some activity for some video footage? 😆

[@hydroaegis6658]

Degrading chlorophyll changes the color of the leaf -_-

[@user-jt6ej7vh2p]

🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁

[@trollmaster6705]

Next up, humans are not actually humans

[@melissapyle7879]

5:00. I think ur doing it wrong..🤦‍♀️

[@nariu7times328]

I love the idea of this show, but am getting tired of the climate change downer with each episode. I am not denying the changes, I would just love an aerial adventure sans the reminder. Thanks.

[@paranoidhumanoid]

It's already been explained. UV light exposure and anthocyanin. Why delete my comment? Very weird.

[@phoule76]

It'll all be palm trees in 50 years.

[@sherlockfury]

not everything needs to be a warning about climate change. Oh no, we have more reds and less then yellows!