Jericho Research Forest

Jericho research forest is former agricultural land like much of the Champlain Valley. Many of the old roads that were used to move farming equipment are still present. Larch trees were planted in the past when it was thought to be a good idea to build planes out of Larch tree wood. This idea became less popular as metal and aluminium planes were created, leaving these larch trees in the Jericho forest stand. Acquired by the University of Vermont in 1941, it is managed by the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and is utilized extensively by the Forestry Department for both research and education.

One of the dominant tree species in the Jericho research forest is the white pine. White pine does well in abundant sunlight and was successful during regrowth after this land was clear cut with little competition for sunlight. This pictures shoes white pine trees towering over the other tree species.

Another dominant tree species in Jericho research forest is hemlock. An interesting fact and advantage that the hemlock tree has over other species is that it can remain dormant in its growth for several years if conditions are not ideal. This advantage might be a reason as to why this tree is abundant in this forest. The tree in this picture is small. It could be anywhere from 5 years old to 60 years old!

This is an interesting area where there appears to be several hundred small early growth Ash trees. All of these trees sprouted from a single tree and are using one root system off of that single tree.

This is an extremely tall white pine tree.  This tree could be around 150-200 years old.

This is a huge oak tree which is a more rare species for this forest. There is a good chance that this tree could be a "grandfather tree" with the impressive age of roughly 200-300 years old. There is a small fence near the tree which is a clue that it could be a grandfather tree and needs to be protected.