As I began to search around for the trees I previously observed I realized that it has become easier to differentiate the different tree species because of their unique appearance during autumn. The silver maple draws my attention first with it noticeably bright orange foliage. Originally, I thought this silver maple's leaf color would transition into a golden yellow due to it's high content of the anthocyanin pigment within it's leaves, but it proved me wrong and exposed more carotene pigment that it possesses. The only other tree I observed that still bared leaves at the time the gigapan was taken was the yellow poplar which appears to have just started it's fall transition.Unlike the silver maple, this one actually turned a yellow color like I previously speculated. I was never able to observe the leaf color of the pumpkin ash because in this gigapan it is completely bare.
        These three species seem to be in three separate transition phases from one another. The yellow poplar is only just starting its color change, the entire silver maple has turned orange but no leaves have fallen, and the pumpkin ash is bare and ready for winter. Considering certain tree species are known for changing at a particular time and rate, the fact that these trees are three completely different species could definitely be the reason for the wide variety of transitional stages between the three. The location of these trees may have an influence on the timing of the leaves phases. The pumpkin ash is slightly out in the open and has the most sun exposure which could have lead to its speedy transition. The silver maple is not as exposed but it still seems to receive double the amount of sunlight than the yellow poplar which may be why it's leaves have turned and the yellow poplar's have yet to fully do so. The yellow poplar's slow transition may also be because the street lights around it are disturbing it's natural transition process. Another minor possibly could be that it is exposed to more pollutants because of it's position beside Guion parking that gets a reasonable amount of traffic.