The history of a forest might be measured by the trunks and branches looming overhead. But for some MSU researchers, a forest’s future lies in what’s growing under their feet.
Every summer for nearly three decades, a team led by Ecology, Evolution and Behavior core faculty member Richard Kobe has made its way to Manistee National Forest in northwestern Lower Michigan to look for new trees that have sprouted.
At less than a year old, the youngest seedlings growing in the understory aren’t much taller than their toes.