The prolonged hot weather and drought have sparked a “false autumn” – which could spell trouble for wildlife when the weather turns colder, a nature charity has warned. Across the country trees have been prematurely shedding their leaves to conserve water and energy in a bid to survive the heat.
The Devon Wildlife Trust warned the phenomenon was particularly apparent in the South West. It said autumn’s store of nuts and berries may already be severely depleted by the time October and November come around, causing a risk of scarcity for birds and mammals.
The trust said it has spotted signs of false autumn at 60 nature reserves it manages across the county. One member of the trust’s nature reserve team remarked that in the last 30 years, they had never seen so many trees experience leaf loss so early in the year.
