For several weeks, the leaves of the trees have been strewn on the ground of the cities, the countryside and the forests. This is one of the consequences of the drought. In the forest of Villecartier (Ille-et-Vilaine) mainly composed of beeches, the trees are losing their leaves. It’s like being mistaken in autumn. “Some branches are completely brown. With the dryness, bubbles were able to form in the vessels and there is an embolism, the branch died. We also have leaves that are starting to turn yellow and fall. To avoid evaporation, transpiration and the need for water, the tree sheds its leaves“, explains Benoît Chevallier, the forestry technician for the forest for the National Forestry Office (ONF). Today, certain places in the forest have the appearance of a landscape that we usually know in November.
– Lisa Morrisseau
Trees are in danger of dying
Beyond the fires trees can also die from drought and wither : ” A tree takes a long time to grow, it also takes a long time to die. We noticed it in 2003, a year of heat wave, the trees withered the following years in 2004, 2005 and 2006“, he says.
When they are victims of high heat, the trees can no longer capture CO2. To adapt to climate change, forestry technicians plant more resistant species. The forest also suffered a 20-hectare fire last week.