A Wet Summer's Corollary

New England's summer was rainy and cool. But the silver lining may be an unusually bright fall foliage season.

The wet weather and low temperatures reduced stress on the region's maples, oaks and birches, and healthy, vigorous trees are colorful trees, as tourists are likely to find out when the leaves reach their peak colors in a few weeks.

"Most of the state should be pretty wonderful viewing. This is one of the better years we've seen in the past 10 or 15 years," said Donald Smith, Connecticut's state forester.

The fall foliage is big business in New England, with "leaf peepers" visiting from across the country and abroad to see autumn's reds and golds. New Hampshire alone reported that a record 6.6 million visitors spent $842 million in the fall of 1999.

Last year, a severe drought caused leaves to turn brown and fall off during the summer, and in some places, the autumn colors were said to be duller. But the soggy summer of 2000 is expected to mean bigger, healthier and more plentiful leaves.

With an estimated $1.27 billion and some 4 million anticipated visitors on the line, Diane Konrady, a spokeswoman for the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, said: "It's still a little early, but what we're seeing in some of the northern areas is very promising."

David Kittredge of the Department of Natural Resources Conservation at the University of Massachusetts explained that leaves are covered with small holes called stomates that allow them to exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen through photosynthesis.

During a dry summer, Kittredge said, the leaves close their holes to avoid losing moisture. Photosynthesis is slowed down, the trees don't grow as well and they produce fewer, less-vibrant leaves.

The soggy summer means this year's foliage season will be more important than usual for innkeepers, tour guides and other tourism businesses that saw a drop in business over the summer.

Reservations are already ahead of where they were at this time last year, said Ed Dombroskas, executive director of the Connecticut Office of Tourism.

By Judith Forman