Both the structure and composition of naturally generated early-seral forests in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) can be profoundly different than that of more developed forest seres, especially in the period after a major disturbance but before conifers re-develop a closed canopy. While it is reasonable to suggest that the unique...
When wheat is exposed to rain in the period before harvest, it sometimes causes the problem of pre-harvest sprouting (PHS). Wheat that undergoes sprouting has poor end-use quality and is less valuable. In recent years, the U. S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) has experienced increased summer showers sometimes causing widespread PHS....
Stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) and Septoria tritici blotch (Zymoseptoria tritici) are a constant and significant threat to wheat production, significantly reducing wheat quality and yield. Wheat is responsible for 20% of the world’s human calorie intake, and wheat production must increase to supply the demand of the...
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has been cultivated for human consumption for thousands of years. However, most North Americans do not consume barley on a regular basis. In the last decade, there has been a renewed interest in barley production for human consumption. A number of quality traits estimate nutritional value...
Contemporary forest management involves a more extensive and diverse suite of management objectives than was the case throughout much of the Twentieth Century. Heightened public and political awareness of local and global biodiversity decline, and interest in arresting these trends, has increased the emphasis on broad-based biodiversity conservation as an...
This study represents an internship, as a requirement of the Professional Science Masters program at Oregon State University, performed with Western Ag Innovations Inc. The study consisted of two aspects -- one business and one science oriented. The two objectives of this internship were to: 1) qualitatively evaluate how two...
The recent increase in energy prices and political instability in the Middle East has sparked renewed interest in alternative energy sources and technologies both locally and nationally. Biodiesel is an appealing transportation fuel source for many reasons: it readily substitutes for petroleum diesel, it tends to burn cleaner with fewer...
The management of federal forest lands in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region changed in early 1990s when the
Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) was adopted with the primary goal to protect old-growth forest and associated
species. A major decline in timber harvest followed, extending an earlier downward trend. The historic and...
The objective of this study is to complete life cycle inventories (LCI) for laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and composite I-joist (I-joist) production in the two main forest products producing regions in the U.S., the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and Southeast (SE). LVL and I-joists are composite wood building materials that are...
Agricultural practices influence the nutrient dynamics of soil and plants, which may take more than a decade to be expressed in the drylands. The nutrient supplying capacity of soil is a crucial component of sustainable agriculture, and hence, this study can play an important role in policy making for the...