Coast redwood-Douglas-fir forest hold important economic, ecological, and cultural values which will likely be threatened by changing climate and increased drought stress. Restoration thinning has been used by forest managers with the goals of decreasing stand competition and accelerating maturation to old-growth conditions. However, uncertainty still remains on whether restoration treatments provide forests with increased resiliency to disturbances such as severe drought. The aim of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of different restoration treatments in improving second-growth forest resiliency to drought stress in coast redwood-Douglas-fir forests of Redwood NP.

A century of fire exclusion in the Sierra Nevada has altered the structure and composition of many old-growth forests. As a result many older sugar pines (Pinus lambertiana) are more prone to mortality due to uncharacteristically severe wildfire, pathogens and insect outbreaks, drought, and competition-induced stress, and many of these factors are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. Examining tree growth is an excellent approach to understanding the influence of these factors on sugar pine vigor and survival. This study is a preliminary analysis to understand the importance spatial factors such as slope and distance to creek as covariates in building growth models for sugar pine.

Trees growing in the hottest/driest parts of their natural range may be better-adapted to hot, dry conditions and hold promise for restoration and resistance to climate change. If drought tolerance and water-use efficiency were heritable genetic traits, we could select for these characteristics and raise seedlings for reforestation on marginal sites or in areas where adverse changes in climate were forecast. 3000 redwood seedlings originating from wet and dry locations were planted by HSU students in 2010 and 2011. The experiment provides insights into outcomes of reclamation and “assisted migration” forest conservation/restoration strategies and impact of climate change on redwood forests.

Plant available phosphorus (P) occurs in anionic forms which become plant-unavailable ("fixed" or "retained") when iron and aluminum oxides form insoluble phosphate complexes. P-retention is especially likely to occur under acid conditions in soils containing short range order (SRO; poorly crystalline) materials, namely allophane and imogolite. This set of characteristics is common in volcanic-derived forest soils in Pacific Northwest timber regions. We built upon 25 years of research by investigating phosphorus retention on two well-studied sites, Whitmore and Feather Falls. Simple soil assays were used in a mixed-effects model to predict P-retention on these soils.

Certain Flavin Monooxygenases (FMO) are enzymes with the potential to catalyze single-enantiomer oxidation of aryl sulfides to chiral sulfoxides. Aryl sulfoxides have a wide array of pharmaceutical and agricultural applications, but many of these enantiomers have yet to be selectively and efficiently synthesized. The enzymes examined in this study are FMOs from Mus musculus, Xenopus tropicalis, Homo sapiens, and BVMO4 and BVMO24 from Rhodococcus jostii RHA1. The genes were cloned into a vector for expression in Escherichia coli and whole-cell mediated reactions with various aryl sulfides were performed to determine their activity toward the substrates and to determine the enantioselectivity.

The Cascadia subduction zone of the Pacic Northwest terminates in the south at the Mendocino Triple Junction, a region of elevated seismic activity. Here, tectonically driven uplift is likely responsible for the formation of Holocene-aged marine terraces. In 1992, a M 7.1 thrust mainshock and two ~M 6.5 aftershocks occurred oshore of Cape Mendocino, resulting in 1.4 meters of uplift. However, it is unknown whether these marine terraces formed due solely to large episodic coseismic uplift caused by moderately large to large magnitude earthquakes, or whether interseismic deformation plays a role in their formation. This study seeks to investigate the formation of these terraces.

Interpretation of hornblende reaction rims through the use of a scanning electron microscope to establish accent rate and path of magma through Mt. Lassen's volcanic conduit in the 1915 eruption.

A Harpy Eagle's, (Harpia harpyja), reproductive cycle is distinctive amongst all raptors. Therefore, obtaining detailed knowledge of their reproductive habitat would assist in creating new management policies and conservation guidelines. We measured variables describing forest characteristics within 0.5-ha plots around each of ten nesting and control trees in the Pacific region of Darien Province, Panama. Variables measured were: tree family richness; tree density, height and diameter; shrub density; and coverage of understory and canopy foliage. We then used Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) to compare a series of models specified a priori to assess the importance of forest attributes.

The Western Snowy Plover is threatened by habitat loss from invasive European Beachgrass. Habitat restoration is implemented to counteract this threat. A second threat to this beach-nesting bird is flooding from sea level rise due to global warming. To inform managers, we evaluated these threats using GIS geospatial analyses to compare nesting habitat features in restored areas and evaluate sea level inundation. In this preliminary study, we found plovers nested on wider beaches with more woody debris, open sand, and other nests than at random. Most nests (84%) were in restored habitat, and a two meter increase from mean sea level would result in 53% of plover nests becoming inundated.

This was a side-project of the Carrizo Ecosystem Project where two observers independently surveyed precincts of the Federally Endangered Giant kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ingens) on 10 plots in the Carrizo Plain National Monument, San Luis Obispo County, California. The goals were to note the bias between observers, to determine if the number of active precincts correlate with the current population density estimates, and to determine if indexing Giant kangaroo rat (GKR) precincts is a reliable method for determining the current GKR population status.