Second Blog Post - 1st Gigapan

A common occurrence around this time of the year is the changing color of the leaves. It is a beautiful thing, but most people do not know why this phenomenon occurs. Essentially, this is the process of leaf senescence. The leaves are actively killed by the tree itself. This is because the tree is breaking down the compounds in the leaves and absorbing their nutrients. The side effect of this process is that the leaves change colors.

The scientific names for the two different color schemes we see in the leaves are carotenoids and anthocyanins.  Carotenoids are the yellow and orange colors. These appear when the chlorophyl in the leaves breaks down. Anthocyanins are the red and purple hues, which are newly generated in the leaves during senescence.

In our Economic Botany class, we used the gigapan cameras to take photos of trees on our campus. We had a lot of fun taking these pictures, and it was very cool to learn how to use the cameras. Sweet Briar has many great locations on campus for taking pictures of multiple species of trees. In the photo I chose to use, there are Sugar Maples, Willow Oaks, and a Tulip Poplar. This photo was taken on the path leading down to the soccer fields, facing Guion and the side of Babcock. We will be observing the trees throughout the fall as they start to change colors.