Stunning image of a forest Autumn Colours

Oldtree

I was blown away by this image by Kacper Kowalski/Panos Pictures which was used in the New Scientist 2012 calender for October:



The explaination given for the colours was equally stunning:

"Pomerania in Poland is famous for its forests, which are dotted with lakes and crossed by meandering rivers. This scene, near Gdynia, shows birch trees turning yellow and beech red in autumn, with pine remaining green.

The green colour corresponds to the chlorophyll pigment. As leaves die in the autumn the chlorophyll diminishes and existing yellow and orange pigments become visible. Many plants also make a red pigment called anthocyanin at this time.

As for why a plant would expend energy making anthocyanin before winter hibernation, William Hoch of Montana State University, Bozeman, and colleagues found that if they blocked its production, leaves became vulnerable to sunlight, sending fewer nutrients to the roots for winter storage (Plant Physiology, vol 133, p 1296).

This discovery was complemented by a study of the autumn foliage of sweetgum and red maple in Charlotte, North Carolina, led by Martha Eppes. Her team at the University of North Carolina found that trees in nutrient-poor soils produce more anthocyanins, probably to shield leaves for longer.

The pigment, an antioxidant, also protects against damage caused by insects. This might in turn account for the fact that autumn leaves tend to be more red in the US and more yellow in Europe, according to Simcha Lev-Yadun at the University of Haifa at Oranim, Israel, and Jarmo Holopainen at the University of Eastern Finland at Kuopio.

Trees evolved to become deciduous after a series of ice ages and dry spells. Many of these trees also began to evolve red leaves to cope with insects. In one respect, however, there was a key difference between North America and Europe: in the former, there was unrestricted plant and insect migration north and south as the ice waxed and waned, but in Europe the plants became trapped, along with herbivorous insects, between ice sheets that advanced from the north and from the Alps. These insects largely died out, says Lev-Yadun. "The anti-herbivore component in red leaf coloration was relaxed, and northern Europe became dominated by trees with yellow autumn leaves."

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/09/autumn-colours-in-north-americ.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/8915950/Photography-exhibition-and-charity-auction-in-aid-of-Sightsavers.html?image=2

Archeron

Stunning. Nice one for sharing that.

Helium

Sure isn't nature grand. Looks like an eye from the sky.
Nice pic OP:)