ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Some homeowners near Lake Ontario have been raking leaves since late June, months earlier than normal fall cleanup.
Joe, a local, reached out to News10NBC wondering why his maple trees were losing leaves in early August instead of October. He has been collecting five bags of leaves per week since late June and shared a photo of seven bags he gathered earlier this month.
News10NBC reporter Emily spoke with the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to find out what’s causing the early leaf drop.
What’s to blame?
“The maples have had a rough year, especially in sort of the Monroe County, the lake… the counties bordering the lake. It’s been very wet,” Tim Wenskus, a regional forester with the DEC said.
The First Alert Weather team reports the region has received about 34% more rain since May than usual. Combined with high humidity, these conditions created the perfect environment for fungus growth.
“Those are great conditions for growing fungus of various kinds, and what you’re seeing on the oaks is probably black spots called tar spots,” Wenskus said.
While tar spots are not uncommon, this much rain is unusual. Wenskus explained that the prolonged wet conditions gave the fungus more time to spread.
“In a normal year you have wet, you have dry, you have wet, you have dry… we’ve just had a long period this year — especially in the northern counties bordering the lake, that it’s just been so moist for so much of the year that the fungus had just had a chance to grow,” Wenskus said.
The good news is that affected trees are not likely to die from tar spots. However, they will experience some stress and lose many leaves early.
“Your tree is not likely to die, it certainly will stress it out a little bit… but it’s… it’s probably gonna lose a lot of its leaves early,” Wenskus said.
Wenskus said tar spots have been appearing in the region for decades, but their severity depends on weather conditions. The farther south you go, like Livingston County where it has been much drier, the less likely you are to see tar spots and early leaf drop.
If you have a Good Question you’d like answered, send an email to [email protected].
Good Question: Why are leaves falling earlier than normal? WHEC.com.
Hence then, the article about good question why are leaves falling earlier than normal was published today ( ) and is available on News10NBC ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Good Question: Why are leaves falling earlier than normal? )
Also on site :
- Aureka Biotechnologies Raises US$100 Million Series B to Build a Biological World Model for Drug Discovery
- J.J. Abrams on ‘The End of Oak Street’ Theories and Daughter Gracie’s Acting Debut: “I Know How Hard She’s Working”
- T.J. Maxx's Set of Perfect-for-Fall Mugs Is Just $15, So You'll Want to Grab It Before It's Gone for Good