How can some trees survive in snowy, freezing cold climates but some can not?
In: Biology
Trees get water from their roots. The way they get water up into the leaves and branches is by opening their leaves. You can kind of think if this as sweating. If you’ve ever had a drop of water fall on you when you stand below a tree, this is why. So when this happens the water from the roots get pulled all the way up so all parts of the tree gets water, but this also means some water is lost through these openings in the leaves.
In the winter, the air is colder and won’t be as humid. This means the air will be dryer than in the summer. Trees with big, flat leaves will usually let a good portion of their leaves die and fall off in the winter to conserve water or else they might lose too much.
Pine trees and evergreens adapted to have needle shaped leaves so they use very little water and therefore not need to let their leaves fall for every winter. They can also photosynthesize or make food in the winter too.
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