Question

Why do trees shed their leaves?
(A) To urge underground water
(B) To avoid loss of moisture
(C) To scale back their weights
(D) None of these

Answer 1

Hint: Many sorts of trees shed their leaves as a way to survive the harsh climate. Trees that lose all of their leaves for a neighborhood of the year are called deciduous trees; those that don’t are called evergreen trees.

Complete Answer:
- While evergreen plants in cold climates have thick waxes and resins to shield their leaves from freezing and fracturing, deciduous species generally have thin leaves that are in danger of cold temperatures.
- Without dropping these leaves, such a tree would be stuck with thousands of unproductive appendages and not make food! As if that weren't reason enough, the world of all those leaves would also pose a threat to the plant’s physical integrity.
- Winter months are often windier than other seasons, and thus the wind against the broad leaves on a cold, brittle tree could cause major breakage. The same goes for the load of snow collecting on all those leaves.
- Finally, by the highest of summer, many leaves are insect-eaten, diseased, or otherwise damaged. Dropping them gives the plant a fresh start within the spring, and thus the nutrients from the decaying leaves are recycled to help grow subsequent leafy generation.

Hence, the proper answer is an option (B).

Note: Deciduous trees typically have broad leaves that are not built to confront the tough elements of the autumn and winter seasons, including cold and dry weather, strong winds, heavy rains, etc.