system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do sapling trees not lose their leaves in the winter while adult trees of the same species do?
gpt
Some like beeches hold onto dead leaves to collect snow at their base for added water when it melts. Saplings in general hold onto their leaves longer than the larger trees to get some last minute sugar from the sun without the shading of the larger trees.