In a forest, each tree is surrounded by lots of neighboring trees. And each leaf on each tree is competing for sunlight. The leaves on the trees’ top branches get plenty of sun, but leaves closer to the ground have access to much less light.
A tree growing on its own in the middle of your yard doesn’t have this problem. The entire tree gets lots of sunlight, so all its leaves can make food all day long.
Over time, the leaves on lower branches of forest tress shrivel and die. And since the main purpose of a branch is to hold leaves, the branches die too. Then they fall off. As a result, the tree can use its precious energy to support the parts of the tree that are absorbing sunlight and producing sugary food.
No comments:
Post a Comment