In the NH north in the winter, broadleaved trees completely lose their leaves which shuts down the need for photosynthesis. So I think trees can hibernate, as long as their sap doesn't freeze solid and as long as the tree's deep roots don't freeze, and there is water down in the soil, it can survive darkness.
As it is, I think the cold is what kills the trees off, not the lack of sunlight for parts of the year. Some of the Boreal Forests today in N Canada are in the constant dark right now. We used to do high altitude rocket solar research at Ft Churchill Canada and the tree line, IIRC was constant dark when we were there in winter.?
Yes no maybe?
The northern edge of the treeline does get daylight this time of the year. The only part of the arctic that gets 6 months of darkness is the north pole, and everything south of the Arctic Circle gets daylight every day of the year. Between the North Pole and the arctic circle, there are a few days each winter without daylight; the duration of the dark period increases as you approach the pole.
Also, at this time of year they get a LOT of daylight because we’re approaching the solstice.
Sorry if I misread the article. I thought it said the animals fed on the plants/leaves? I can see the plants going dormant for 6 months, but if they did, did the animals hibernate? Or just starve? LOL