User:Bollinger Lane/sandbox

Sandbox for group project

Marcescence is the retention of dead leaves on the branches of a tree during non-growth seasons. The evolutionary cause of marcescence is unknown at this time, one known physical cause is early frosts or sudden and extreme drops in temperature. Only theories surround the topic. Theory one is the theory that the dead leaves protect the buds from being preyed on by deer and other animals scavenging for food. A second theory is the theory that the dead leaves trap snow during the winter and when this snow melts in the spring it provides the tree with an abundance of water that the tree can then use to fuel growth. A third theory is the theory that trees keep leaves until the next spring, when the growing buds force the leaves to fall, in an effort to provide themselves additional nutrients in the soil around the base of the tree as the fallen leaves begin to decay. When leaves fall at the start of winter they begin breaking down and the nutrients that are released during decomposition can be leeched from the soil, when these nutrients are leeched from the soil the tree is not able to use them to fuel growth in the spring.