August 25, 2020
Few visitors to Penn State's University Park campus know about the Black Walnut Provenance Study, a two-acre grove of black walnut trees near the northeast border of campus which has an interesting backstory and a role to play in ongoing and future research.
August 19, 2020
The rapid pace by which invasive shrubs have infiltrated forests in the northeastern United States has made scientists suspect they have a consistent advantage over native shrubs, and the first region-wide study of leaf timing, conducted by Penn State researchers, supports those suspicions.
August 17, 2020
Penn State researchers, in a recent study, were surprised to learn that they could take the exact same number of seeds from the same plants, put them in agricultural fields across the Mid-Atlantic region and get profoundly different stands of cover crops a few months later.
August 12, 2020
To judge the overall effectiveness of cover crops and choose those offering the most ecosystem services, agricultural scientists must consider the plants’ roots as well as above-ground biomass, according to Penn State researchers who tested the characteristics of cover crop roots in three monocultures and one mixture.
August 11, 2020
Richard Guldin, a 1970 graduate in forestry science from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been selected as the 2020 winner of the Sir William Schlich Memorial Award. The Schlich award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of forestry with emphasis on policy and national or international activities.
August 10, 2020
Flavonoid compounds — produced by the roots of some sorghum plants — positively affect soil microorganisms, according to Penn State researchers, who suggest the discovery is an early step in developing a frost-resistant line of the valuable crop for North American farmers.
August 3, 2020
Brian Redder, a doctoral student studying soil science and biogeochemistry in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was chosen by Pennsylvania Sea Grant to participate in the National Sea Grant's John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program, class of 2021.
July 20, 2020
In their zeal to promote the importance of climate change as an ecological driver, climate scientists increasingly are ignoring the profound role that indigenous peoples played in fire and vegetation dynamics, not only in the eastern United States but worldwide, according to a Penn State researcher.
July 6, 2020
The University's ecology community will memorialize faculty member Victoria Braithwaite, who died last year, with a new research excellence award named in her honor that will recognize one student each year for their published ecology research.
June 24, 2020
Conservation efforts that open up the canopy of overgrown habitat for threatened timber rattlesnakes — whose venom is used in anticoagulants and other medical treatments — are beneficial to snakes but could come at a cost, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State and the University of Scranton.
June 22, 2020
A Penn State Extension webinar series, which begins June 24 and continues through Aug. 12, will help rural homeowners address common water supply management problems. "Approximately 3 million Pennsylvanians — mostly in rural homes and on farms — use a private well, spring or cistern for their drinking water," said Bryan Swistock, extension water resources specialist. "Penn State research has shown that about 40% of private water supplies fail at least one health-based drinking water standard, and many others suffer from aesthetic water quality issues."
June 10, 2020
A forest's ability to store carbon depends significantly on the bedrock beneath, according to Penn State researchers who studied forest productivity, composition and associated physical characteristics of rocks in the Appalachian ridge and Valley Region of Pennsylvania.
June 9, 2020
Tammy Shannon, academic advising coordinator for the environmental resource management program, has received the 2020 Excellence in Academic Advising Award from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
June 8, 2020
Muskrat populations have declined sharply across North America over the last 50 years or so, and wildlife scientists have struggled to understand why. A new study by a Pennsylvania research team is investigating whether pathogens, parasites, environmental contaminants and disease may be contributing to this decline.
June 4, 2020
The Latin name for brook trout — Salvelinus fontinalis — means "speckled fish of the fountains," but a new study by Penn State researchers suggests, for the first time, that the larger streams and rivers those fountains, or headwaters, flow into may be just as important to the brook trout.
May 27, 2020
Watching wildlife outside your window can boost your mental well-being, and it’s something lots of people have been doing a lot more of lately. This article by Dr. Julian Avery recently appeared in The Washington Post and was originally published on theconversation.com.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.