190,000 baby trees in 25 years: Seedling census offers clues to what the future might hold for Michigan forests‎

The history of a forest might be measured by the trunks and branches looming overhead. But for some researchers at Michigan State University, a forest's future lies in what's growing under their feet. Every summer for nearly three decades, a team led by forestry professor Richard Kobe has made their way to Manistee National Forest in northwestern Lower Michigan to look for new trees that have sprouted.