Climate change, land-use change, introduced pests and
diseases altering fall foliage
The falling leaves drift by the window, the autumn leaves of
red and gold ...
It was 1947 when Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics to the
popular song "Autumn Leaves." Sixty-five years ago, Mercer likely
didn't think the reds and golds of fall might someday fade.
But that's what's beginning to happen in U.S. Northeast and
Mid-Atlantic regions.
Autumn colors were different there a century, or even a
half-century, ago, and they will likely continue to change, says ecologist
David Foster, principal investigator at the National Science Foundation's (NSF)
Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site in Massachusetts.