UMF professor and team of forest scientists receive NASA grant to study drought resilience in western forests

FARMINGTON – Dr. Andrew Barton, professor of biology at the University of Maine at Farmington, and a team of five other forest scientists recently received a $597,000 grant from NASA to further investigate whether thinning in Arizona ponderosa pine forest increases water supplies for wild ecosystems and human communities alike. In addition to Dr. Barton, the three-year project involves scientists from Wesleyan University and Northern Arizona University, including the team leader, Dr. Temuulen Sankey. The ponderosa pine forests in the western United States have been greatly altered by 20th century fire suppression policies leading to dense stands of trees vulnerable toRead More