...as far as I know, those trees only grow in tropical zones, so they never drop their leaves.
Did not know that. Must be good news for the monkeys.
As for tires, I used to have slicks on both wheels, Kojak front, Scorcher rear, and liked it but had traction issues on sand. Now I am using Kojak front, Marahton Racer rear. It seems to give a good all conditions balance.
In addition, I ride *very* carefully when passing mud, piles of leaves, etc, avoiding as possible tight turns and breaking.