copper beeches?

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"Immense, entirely itself, it wore that yard like a dress," writes contemporary poet Marie Howe in her poem "The Copper Beech."

All winter the local beeches have been clothed in shimmering copper. But why? This one has always baffled me knowing that everything in nature happens for a reason. Nothing is random. Nature has a fierce practicality about her.

Other trees cast off their leaves in autumn. They fall like confetti at a hero's parade. Why do beech trees hold onto their dead copper leaves all winter? They cling tight through wind, rain and sleet, only to be cast off at the slightest breeze in spring. But why?

Does the copper dress somehow protect the tree? 

If you know, please share the answer, otherwise I may not sleep.

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