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Vermont Researchers Speed Up Tree Aging Process To Create Old Growth

University of Vermont forest ecologist Bill Keeton uses a laser rangefinder to measure the height of a tree in UVM's Jericho Research Forest. (Kathleen Masterson/VPR)
University of Vermont forest ecologist Bill Keeton uses a laser rangefinder to measure the height of a tree in UVM's Jericho Research Forest. (Kathleen Masterson/VPR)

Scientists at the University of Vermont are engineering trees to look and act like old-growth forests. There is less than 1 percent of old-growth forest in the northeastern U.S. The forests are essential for providing habitat for animals and plants, mitigating flooding and absorbing carbon emissions.

Kathleen Masterson (@kathmasterson) of Here & Now contributor Vermont Public Radio visited the experimental forest and has our story.

This story comes to us from the New England News Collaborative.

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