May 26, 2020
After a severe drought gripped the Prairie Pothole Region of the U.S. and Canada in the 1980s, populations of almost all dabbling duck species that breed there have recovered. But not northern pintails. Now a new study by a team of researchers suggests why — they have been caught in an ecological trap.
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May 20, 2020
Leaving her footprint on the natural world — in a reduced-carbon kind of way — has been a long-held aspiration for Sarah Schanwald. The recent Penn State graduate, who holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental resource management from the College of Agricultural Sciences, is well on her way to doing that based on the strength of her experiences at the University.
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May 15, 2020
Three individuals have received the Dr. William Henson Diversity Achievement Award from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, an honor that recognizes distinctive and outstanding teaching, research, extension or creative work that advances diversity in the college.
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May 3, 2020
Scientists Brice Hanberry, USDA Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station, and Marc Abrams, Penn State, decided to explore whether white-tailed deer populations are a key driver in changing eastern forests. Based on their research, it appears that deer are not the culprits.
April 17, 2020
Dr. Eric Burkhart talks about mayapple in this piece from West Virginia Public Broadcasting's "Edible Mountain," a digital series that showcases some of Appalachia’s "untapped and understudied natural resources."
April 13, 2020
This recent article in the Pittsburgh Quarterly highlights the research of Dr. Eric Burkhart, botanist and ramp expert.
April 13, 2020
Ag Student of the Month is an award given by the College of Ag Sciences Student Council to a student who demonstrates actions that benefit the college and a student organization. Daniel Wesdock is a graduating senior enrolled in the Soil Science option of Environmental Resource Management; he is also completing a minor in Wildlife and Fisheries Science.
March 27, 2020
Michael Jacobson, professor of forest resources in the College of Agricultural Sciences, is the recipient of the 2020 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award. Established in 1995, the award recognizes faculty members who have contributed significantly to the advancement of the international mission of the University. It is named for the late deputy vice president for international programs.
March 16, 2020
Ag Student of the Month is an award given by the College of Ag Sciences Student Council to a student who demonstrates actions that benefit the college and a student organization. Bailey Kleeberg is an outstanding junior studying Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Penn State University Park.
March 5, 2020
In this popular article, Julian Avery, Assistant Research Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, addresses how humans influence bird populations, whether feeding poses risks to wild birds, and how to engage with birds in sustainable ways.
February 29, 2020
Andra Johnson, vice chancellor for research and technology development at the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been named associate director of Penn State Extension, effective July 1. He is a Forest Resources alumnus.
February 28, 2020
Ways of thinking about, planning and designing intergenerationally enriched environments are explored in a new book co-edited by Matt Kaplan, professor of intergenerational programs and aging in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
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February 21, 2020
Many decades of forest fire prevention and suppression has resulted in a thick buildup of organic matter on the forest floor in many regions of the United States, according to a Penn State researcher, whose new study suggests that the peculiar way that these layers burn should be considered in plans for controlled burns.
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February 14, 2020
Current carbon cycle models may underestimate the amount of carbon dioxide released from the soil during rainy seasons in temperate forests like those found in the northeast United States, according to Penn State researchers.
February 11, 2020
Raising awareness and offering technological tools to the thousands of citizens groups in the U.S. that monitor water quality might help community leaders tap these volunteers as a way to improve access to plentiful, clean water and possibly avoid water-related crises, according to a team of researchers.
February 4, 2020
Jessica Chou, a senior majoring in environmental resource management, has been an active member of the Student Farm Club since she was a freshman. She now is the executive director of the club.
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February 3, 2020
Weighing in on a debate that has raged for decades, Penn State researchers, after conducting a series of ultra-detailed comparisons, have declared that shipping pallets made of wood are slightly more environmentally friendly and sustainable than those made of plastic.
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January 30, 2020
Flow rates and time of year must be taken into account to better understand the potential risks posed by emerging organic contaminants in rivers and streams, according to Penn State researchers who studied contaminant concentrations and flow characteristics at six locations near drinking water intakes in the Susquehanna River basin.
January 28, 2020
Dr. Eric Burkhart assisted a National Geographic writer with this story, which also references his ginseng research and outreach program. National Geographic requires readers to provide an email to access the piece.
January 16, 2020
Penn State DuBois Wildlife Technology student Eli DePaulis recently received the John Roe Student Sustainability Award from the Council of Sustainable Leaders at the Sustainability Institute at University Park. He earned the award for his work to eliminate an invasive species of shrub honeysuckle from wetlands near the Penn State DuBois campus.
January 9, 2020
When Jay Stauffer made his first trip to Lake Malawi in 1983, just before joining the faculty in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, he never dreamed that the trip would be the genesis of his career focus and that it would yield valuable partnerships for the University.
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January 6, 2020
Using low-intensity fire to help manage forests offers many benefits, according to Jesse Kreye, assistant professor of fire and natural resources management in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. Among those benefits are promoting desired tree species such as oak, spurring new growth that provides food and cover for wildlife, controlling invasive plants, and suppressing ticks, which often carry pathogens such as the one that causes Lyme disease.
January 6, 2020
Ukraine is called the “breadbasket of Europe,” a moniker earned because of the fertile, black soils that blanket its landscape. As a longtime professor of environmental soil science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Rick Stehouwer has studied this famed “chernozem” soil, knowledge he acquired through books, lectures and lab samples.
December 11, 2019
Innovators from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences upheld a winning tradition recently at the TechCelerator pitch competition hosted by the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania. The team was awarded a $10,000 investment for their fledgling enterprise, RealForests. Their victory makes RealForests the sixth team from the college to win one of Penn State’s most prestigious pitch competitions.
December 11, 2019
A Penn State project aimed at advancing conservation-based estate planning for forest landowners in two key regions of Pennsylvania is the beneficiary of an $80,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
November 25, 2019
A transition from wild collection of herbs to forest farming needs to occur in Appalachia to make the opaque, unstable and unjust supply chain for forest medicinal plants such as ginseng sustainable, according to a team of researchers who have studied the market for more than a decade.
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November 25, 2019
Patrick Drohan, associate professor of pedology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, gave a keynote address at the Catchment 2019 conference in Wexford, Ireland, in early November.
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November 21, 2019
"Following an intense collaboration between Penn State scientists and our design consultants, Didier Design Studio, we believe we have successfully married aesthetics with state-of-the-art knowledge about the biology of pollinators and birds," said Kim Steiner, director of the Arboretum and professor of forest biology in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
November 18, 2019
John Carlson, professor of molecular genetics in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, recently was named Mercator Fellow and Visiting Professor at Georg-August University of Göttingen in Germany.
November 14, 2019
For many first-generation college students, study abroad experiences seem out of reach. However, a new course offered by the Environmental Resource Management program in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences aims to make that aspiration a reality.
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