Autumn: This is why the leaves change color at this time of year

We know it’s autumn at the latest when the leaves on the trees turn bright yellow, orange or red.
In summer, however, the leaves of most plants are still bright green.
The reason: the chlorophyll pigment present in the leaves
reflects the green parts of the sunlight, while the other parts of the light are absorbed.
So, the color of the leaves is related to the processing of sunlight, the process of photosynthesis.
Due to the weaker solar radiation in autumn, the photosynthesis rate also decreases.
So less green chlorophyll is needed and produced.
The trees now extract the dye from the leaves and direct it to the roots so that it is not lost when the leaves fall.
Once the green pigment has been removed from the leaves,
the other pigments in the leaf, which were hidden by the chlorophyll in summer, are now visible.