DEVON’S wildlife is facing a tricky few months, due to the onset of a so-called ‘false autumn’, a local charity has said. In normal years, the sight of trees turning golden-brown and shedding their leaves is usually associated with October and November.

However, Devon and the South West autumn seems to have arrived two months early as many tree leaves are already changing colour and falling to the ground.

It seems that the dry, hot summer has ushered in what is known as a ‘false autumn’, in which some trees are abandoning their normal seasonal cycle and closing down prematurely in an attempt to survive by conserving water and energy.

Local charity Devon Wildlife Trust is now warning that this ‘false autumn’ may be a sign of wider problems for wildlife in the coming months.

The concern is that when October and November do arrive the usual bounty of wild foods may already be depleted, leaving a real risk of scarcity for birds and mammals.

The Trust has seen evidence of a ‘false autumn’ at many of its 60 nature reserves across the county.

The Trust’s Steve Hussey said: ‘We’ve been seeing lots of trees whose leaves have turned brown prematurely. Many trees are also shedding their leaves two or even three months ahead of when we’d expect them to. A member of our nature reserves’ team told me that in the 30 years he’s been working on his sites he’s never known it to be drier and for so many trees to have experienced leaf loss so early in the year.’