Ginkgo tree on UNH campus sees its latest leaf drop on record - WMUR Manchester
University of New Hampshire tree evidence of changing climate
USING THE EDUCATION FREEDOM ACCOUNTS. WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT A NEW RECORD THAT WAS SET ON THE CAMPUS OF UNH IN FRONT OF JAMES HALL STANDS A GINKGO TREE THAT DROPS ITS LEAVES EACH YEAR. WHEN THE FIRST HARD FROST ARRIVES. AND THIS YEAR IT LOST ITS LEAVES ON NOVEMBER 12TH. HERE’S THE DEAL. THAT IS 12 DAYS LATER THAN AVERAGE SINCE UNH STARTED KEEPING RECORDS OF THE LEAF DROP BACK IN THE 1970S. A PROFESSOR WHO’S BEEN TRACKING THE DATA FOUND THE LEAVES ARE FALLING LATER AS THE YEARLY HARD FROST HAS MOVED FROM OCTOBER AND INTO NOVEMBER. SO GETTING COLDER A LITTLE BIT LATER. BUT TODAY IT’S GOING TO BE WARM. THERE WE GO. I’M GOING TO SAY MY QUESTION IS, DO THEY USUALLY TRACK CERTAIN TREES? I MEAN, I’M JUST I’M CURIOUS ABOUT THE TRADITION HERE. I BELIEVE THE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION DOES TRACK DIFFERENT TYPES OF TREES DURING THE FALL SEASON TO JUST KIND OF KEEP TABS ON IT BECAUSE EACH TREE KIND OF DOES ITS OWN THING O
Ginkgo tree on UNH campus sees its latest leaf drop on record
Professor says climate change leading to later hard frosts
Updated: 12:30 PM EST Nov 16, 2023
A new record has been set on the Durham campus at the University of New Hampshire.In front of James Hall stands a ginkgo tree, which drops all of its leaves at once each year when the first hard frost arrives.This year, the tree lost its leaves on Nov. 12, which, according to UNH, is 12 days later than the average over the past 46 years.>> Forecasting our Future coverageUNH officials have been keeping records for the tree since 1977. A professor who has been tracking the data found that over the past half-century, the tree’s leaves are falling later as the yearly hard frost has moved from October into November. >> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <<“This is only one tree, of course, but it shows that the growing season is being lengthened by climate change, which is impacting the date of leaf fall,” Serita Frey, UNH professor of natural resources and the environment, said. “Leaf fall in this ginkgo on UNH’s campus is triggered by a hard frost, and that didn’t happen until this past Saturday night (11/11), which is very late for New England.”The original focus of tracking the tree’s leaf drop was not related to climate change. Early on, the leaf drop became an annual contest for students looking to guess when it could occur, school officials said.-->> Other trending headlines:Police identify person killed in weekend crash on I-93 in Hooksett Certain ice cream products sold in New Hampshire have been recalled 2008 Celtics NBA champion convicted in scheme to defraud insurance plan for NBA players
DURHAM, N.H. —
A new record has been set on the Durham campus at the University of New Hampshire.
In front of James Hall stands a ginkgo tree, which drops all of its leaves at once each year when the first hard frost arrives.
This year, the tree lost its leaves on Nov. 12, which, according to UNH, is 12 days later than the average over the past 46 years.
>> Forecasting our Future coverage
UNH officials have been keeping records for the tree since 1977.
A professor who has been tracking the data found that over the past half-century, the tree’s leaves are falling later as the yearly hard frost has moved from October into November.
>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple| Google Play<<
“This is only one tree, of course, but it shows that the growing season is being lengthened by climate change, which is impacting the date of leaf fall,” Serita Frey, UNH professor of natural resources and the environment, said. “Leaf fall in this ginkgo on UNH’s campus is triggered by a hard frost, and that didn’t happen until this past Saturday night (11/11), which is very late for New England.”
The original focus of tracking the tree’s leaf drop was not related to climate change. Early on, the leaf drop became an annual contest for students looking to guess when it could occur, school officials said.
University of New Hampshire This graph depicts the leaf drop days over time for UNH’s ginkgo tree from 1977 to 2023.
--
>> Other trending headlines:
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.