January 29, 2025
Ellen Rom, coordinator for undergraduate programs in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Penn State, has been recognized with the College of Agricultural Sciences’ Community of Advising Excellence Award.
January 24, 2025
Although aquaculture, fish farming, is believed to have been practiced for thousands of years in Asia, the approach is relatively new in Africa, which is facing a “fish deficit” that contributes to a lack of protein in the diets of the populace, according to the international nonprofit WorldFish. To help accelerate fish farming in northern Zambia, a team led by researchers at Penn State investigated local integrated agriculture-aquaculture practices — meaning their management of agricultural resources to supply essential inputs for feeding fish — adopted by farmers.
January 21, 2025
Geese appear to understand when and where hunting takes place but are willing to risk the danger to stay close to resources and their primary habitats, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.
January 8, 2025
The invasive emerald ash borer, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was first found in the United States in southeast Michigan in 2002. In the decades since, the wood-boring beetle has spread east and west across the U.S. and Canada, killing tens of millions of ash trees, causing one of the costliest forest insect invasions to date. Researchers at Penn State are working with the U.S. Forest Service and other partners to identify and develop ash trees genetically able to withstand the beetles’ onslaught and strategize how to restore ash to forests.
December 10, 2024
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences celebrated another year of outstanding success and accomplishments in research during the 2024 Research Awards Ceremony, held Nov. 19 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.
December 2, 2024
An economic analysis led by researchers at Penn State found that the Northcentral Regional ATV Trail Connector generated over $23.5 million in economic revenue for area businesses over a two-year period.
December 2, 2024
A delegation of Penn State faculty and graduate students who attended the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, known as COP16, in Cali, Colombia, share about the event and their experiences.
November 26, 2024
Ramps, also known as wild leeks, and their unique garlic-onion flavor profile, are a popular foraged seasonal food but that demand could drive overharvesting of the native forest plant. In response to excess harvest worries, an interdisciplinary Penn State research team has studied how to grow and harvest ramps as a potential forest crop since 2017. In their latest study, published in the journal Wild, they characterized ramp habitat for the first time in Pennsylvania, offering guidance for the agroforestry practice known as forest farming.
November 18, 2024
Phosphorus, a nutrient in soil essential for sustaining most forms of life, is increasingly disappearing from land as it is washed into waterways throughout the United States, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.
November 15, 2024
Michael Jacobson, professor of forest resources in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, co-led the second Collaborative Learning School, a year-round virtual networking community of faculty, students and early career professionals that culminates in a two-week summer field workshop with U.S. and African scientists and practitioners. The school, which was held in Uganda last year, is funded by a five-year, $2 million U.S. National Science Foundation grant and is an initiative of the SustainFood Network.
October 31, 2024
Three first-year students from the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management in the College of Agricultural Sciences were inspired to pursue summer internships by their experiences in AG 150: First-Year Seminar at Penn State Altoona.
October 29, 2024
Microplastics have been steadily increasing in freshwater environments for decades and are directly tied to rising global plastic production since the 1950s, according to a new study by an interdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers.
October 23, 2024
Is the floating freshwater fern commonly called Carolina azolla the potential answer to global food insecurity or a possible threat to humanity? On the heels of a study published earlier this year by researchers at Penn State on the plant’s nutrition and digestibility, the team learned of concerns about the plant’s potential toxin content. The researchers joined an international effort to test Azolla and found that it does not contain cyanotoxins, potent toxins produced by a type of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, associated with the plant.
October 22, 2024
New findings from long-term research underscore the challenges managers face when trying to conserve Penn’s Woods. The seven-year study, conducted by a team of researchers from Penn State, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is the first to simultaneously assess how deer browsing, soil nutrients and competing vegetation affect tree regeneration in Keystone State forests.
October 21, 2024
"Synergies in Art and Science," an art exhibition showcasing collaborations at the intersection of microbial science and artistic innovation, will be on display at the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture's Borland Project Space, located in 125 Borland Building, from Oct. 28 to Nov 15. The exhibition, curated by adjunct researcher Cynthia White, expands on some of the work previously shown in spring 2024 in conjunction with the One Health Microbiome Center Biannual Symposium.
October 18, 2024
Flathead catfish — native to the Mississippi River basin — were first detected in the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania in 2002, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In the two decades since then, the invasive species has spread throughout the river basin. The impact of the large predator on the waterway’s food webs and ecology was unknown, but now a team including researchers from Penn State is beginning to understand what Susquehanna flatheads are eating and how their presence is affecting native aquatic species in the river.
September 11, 2024
Camryn Hornbaker, a Penn State senior majoring in forest ecosystem management, was part of a wildland firefighting crew that spent two weeks supporting firefighting efforts in eastern Montana.
August 26, 2024
Several faculty members and graduate students associated with Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences recently received awards at the 70th annual North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Conference in Wooster, Ohio.
August 26, 2024
Two recent studies involving Penn State researchers shed light on the ecological importance of red-backed salamanders and confirmed that proactive measures could prevent costly impacts from a wildlife disease spreading across Europe that has not yet reached North America.
August 22, 2024
A bottle of water sampled from a lake or river can reveal what fish, amphibians insects and bacteria are present, thanks to environmental DNA, the genetic material shed by organisms. This way of measuring transforms scientists’ ability to determine the extent of aquatic life in various water bodies, according to a team led by Daniel Allen, assistant professor of aquatic ecology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
August 19, 2024
Ten Penn State students, including nine associated with the College of Agricultural Sciences, have been awarded predoctoral fellowships by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, securing over $1.4 million in total funding.
August 16, 2024
Christopher Scott, a researcher with more than three decades’ experience in international and domestic water, food and energy policy, has been named an associate director of the Institute of Energy and the Environment at Penn State.
August 8, 2024
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences offers unique opportunities for hands-on learning, such as the soil judging team, which provides students interested in soil science with a way to develop field interpretation skills while having fun.
July 24, 2024
There will be a lot going on in and around the J.D. Harrington Crops, Soils and Conservation Building at Penn State’s Ag Progress Days, Aug. 13-15. Exhibits and activities will feature crop management, renewable energy, conservation education and planting demonstrations, as well as the signature hay show.
July 15, 2024
The discovery of a hybrid population of poplar trees in western Wyoming has provided insight into how natural hybridization informs the evolution of many plant species, according to a team led by Penn State researchers. They also said their discovery, which was published in the journal Molecular Ecology, suggests that genetic exchange between species may be critical for adaptation to environmental change.
June 26, 2024
The Himalayan ShePower project, created by graduate students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, is designed to help smallholder farmers in Nepal earn extra income by producing paper from rhino waste.
June 26, 2024
When Sloan Householder, of Richmond, Virginia, decided to pursue higher education in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, she was understandably nervous about navigating a large university. A first-year seminar class created with first-generation students like her in mind made all the difference during Householder’s first year.
June 13, 2024
Fire can help shape ecosystems, and after a century of suppressing naturally occurring fire that has thrown forests out balance, some states — including Pennsylvania — are using controlled burns to help manage forests on public lands. Now, a new four-state study by a team of Penn State researchers shows that many private landowners in the Keystone State value controlled burns and are willing to pay for them on their woodlands, too.
June 5, 2024
Mary Ann Bruns, professor of soil microbiology and biogeochemistry in the College of Agricultural Sciences, received the Commonwealth Award from Penn State’s One Health Microbiome Center on May 30.
May 21, 2024
The Sustainable Labs Program provides educational support and networking opportunities to labs across Penn State, helping them implement changes to become more energy and resource efficient. Actions taken by participating labs are estimated to result in over $155,000 in savings for the University and reduce about 490 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
