# Winter rest

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{{short description|Annual state for some plants and animals}}
{{Redirect|Winter sleep|the film of the same name|Winter Sleep (film)}}
{{Dormancy}}'''Winter rest''' (from the [German](/source/German_language) term ''Winterruhe'') is a state of reduced activity of [plant](/source/plant)s and [warm-blooded](/source/warm-blooded) [animal](/source/animal)s living in extratropical regions of the [world](/source/Earth) during the more hostile environmental conditions of [winter](/source/winter). In this state, they save energy during cold weather while they have limited access to food sources.

==Plants==
[Deciduous](/source/Deciduous) trees lose their foliage in the winter. Tree [growth rings](/source/growth_rings) are a result of winter rest, as there is rapid growth in the warmer [spring](/source/spring_(season)), then slower growth later in the year.

[Perennial](/source/Perennial_plant) and [biennial](/source/Biennial_plant) [herbaceous plants](/source/herbaceous_plants) lose their frost-sensitive, above-ground parts before the winter, and regrow in the spring. Herbaceous plants that are [annual](/source/Annual_plant), producing seeds before the winter, can also be considered to have winter rest in some form, because their seeds may stay inactive over the winter before [germinating](/source/germinating). Annual plants which have seeds that germinate before winter also have winter rest. [Winter cereals](/source/Winter_cereals), for example, which are sown in the fall and germinate before the frost, become dormant during the winter and actually require a few weeks of cold before they are able to flower.

==Animals==
Winter rest in an animal is different from true [hibernation](/source/hibernation), since their [metabolism](/source/metabolism) is not reduced drastically. Body temperature is not significantly lowered, however their [heart rate](/source/heart_rate) is reduced. This means that animals like the [raccoon](/source/raccoon) can quickly become active again if temperatures rise or the snow melts.<ref>{{cite book | last=MacClintock | first=Dorcas | title=A Natural History of Raccoons | publisher=The Blackburn Press | location=Caldwell, New Jersey | year=1981 | isbn=978-1-930665-67-5}}</ref> Other animals that winter rest are [badgers](/source/European_badger).

Although a [bear's](/source/bears) body temperature decreases less than that of other mammals which undergo true hibernation, mostly changing around 6-7 degrees Celsius, this is a result of their large, heat-retaining body masses.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tøien |first=Øivind |author2=Black, J. |author3=Edgar, D. M. |author4=Grahn, D. A. |author5=Heller, H. C. |author6-link=Brian McRae Barnes |author6=Barnes, B. M. |title=Black Bears: Independence of Metabolic Suppression from temperature |journal=Science |date=February 2011 |volume=331 |issue=6019 |pages=906–909 |doi=10.1126/science.1199435 |pmid=21330544|bibcode=2011Sci...331..906T |s2cid=20829847 }}</ref> Their metabolism, the main indicator of hibernation, lowers significantly.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Geiser |first=Fritz |title=Seasonal Expression of Avian and Mammalian Daily Torpor and Hibernation: Not a Simple Summer-Winter Affair |journal=Frontiers in Physiology |date=May 20, 2020 |volume=11 |page=436 |doi=10.3389/fphys.2020.00436 |doi-access=free |pmid=32508673 |pmc=7251182 | issn=1664-042X }}</ref>

==See also==
* [Growing season](/source/Growing_season)
* [Cereal germ](/source/Cereal_germ) — the part of the [cereal](/source/cereal) seed that grows into a plant
* [Seed dormancy](/source/Seed_dormancy)
* [Stratification](/source/Stratification_(botany)) — the simulation of natural winter conditions for seeds
* [Thermoregulation](/source/Thermoregulation) — The ability for an organism to keep its temperature within a certain range
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== References ==
{{reflist}}

Category:Animal physiology
Category:Winter phenomena
Category:Plant physiology

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Winter rest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_rest) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_rest?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.