LAWRENCE — Tree experts can tell you the worth of a tree that’s been cut down and converted into boards and bark chips. But now experts are going to try to measure a living tree’s benefits – particularly for communities, their people, and the environment. Beginning Thursday, the Lawrence-Douglas County planning office and the Kansas Forest Service will measure and inventory trees and other vegetation on a random sample of one-tenth-acre plots of both public and private property this summer. Community forester Kim Bomberger said the Douglas County project will use a special computer software to calculate the trees’ value. Trees improve the quality streams and rivers and forests contribute to human and community health, and remove carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air, she said. Trees also reduce buildings’ energy use because of shade, she said.
Tuesday, May 29, 6:30 a.m.
