The cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the most important food crops in the United States, as well as globally. As demand rises, growers in the Pacific Northwest are revisiting their crop management strategies to determine whether there are additional ways to enhance crop productivity while managing plant and...
Tidal marshes are dynamic ecosystems that are threatened by climate change and sea-level rise. To characterize baseline condition and historic climate sensitivities, and improve projections into the future, new methods are required that integrate data from the field and remote sensing platforms. Marsh elevation response models can be calibrated with...
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...
In 1970, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) produced approximately 145,332,000 bushels of wheat (all types) with an average harvest value of over $220,000,000. White wheat comprised about 126,234,000 bushels of that total, about 87 percent. In recent years the financial circumstances, for several reasons, have deteriorated for many farmers and grain...
Interest is expanding for the potential role of estuaries, particularly seagrass and salt marsh habitats, to sequester carbon, mitigate ocean acidification, and support abundant fisheries. The important functions of estuaries are part of a broader set of ecosystem services, or benefits to humans, which are regulated by ocean and watershed...
Foodborne illness in the United States continues to be a complex and recurring issue despite our increased understanding of the pathogenic microorganisms responsible. Foodborne illness outbreaks and product recalls linked to pathogenic bacteria have been more frequent in the produce industry (e.g. fruits and vegetables) in the last ten years....
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...
Douglas-fir provides social, economic, and ecological benefits in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). In addition to timber, forests support abundant plant and animal biodiversity and provide socioeconomic viability for many rural communities. Products derived from Douglas-fir account for approximately 17% of the U.S. lumber output with an estimated value of $1.9...
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the production of poplar biomass grown under four management conditions in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the U.S.A. was conducted. While the extraction of fossil fuels and the subsequent generation of energy have environmental impacts, the alternative of extracting poplar biomass also has impacts...