What happens during photosynthesis?

What happens to photosynthesis in the winter?

• When all the leaves fall off trees, how do the plants get energy other than from water? Doesn't the chlorophyll make photosynthesis from the leaves? How can that happen when there ...show more

• Answer:

  Plants store energy in the form of sugars. Come spring sugars stored by trees mix with spring rainwater absorbed by their roots. This mixture, called sap, is pulled upward to the leaf buds. Maple syrup is made from one of the tastiest saps. Chlorophyll is the green colored chemical in leaves that makes photosynthesis possible. It gets disassembled and drained from the leaves before they fall. (This explains color changes.) So photosynthesis drops to very low levels for the winter; a tiny amount takes place in buds and bark to maintain the tree's "awareness" of conditions.