It's natural for some pine tree needles to turn brown in fall. Although most conifers do stay green all year, many people do not realize that they don’t keep all their needles all the time. Just when the oak trees lose their leaves, most evergreens also drop needles — but not all of them. 

Most conifers grow a new tuft of needles on each branch annually, to add to the several years' worth of needles it still has. Each year in the fall, it loses some of the older needles (those closest to the trunk). Pines are some of the fastest growing conifers and replace as much as 1/3 to 1/2 of their total needles every year. This normal phenomenon is called seasonal needle loss or fall needle drop.

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- Courtesy of NYBG Plant Information Service