Focus on Forestry is published by Oregon State University's College of Forestry. Our goal is to keep Forestry alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students informed about the College of Forestry and its many activities and programs.
Focus is published by Oregon State University College of Forestry. Our goal is to keep Forestry alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students informed about the College of Forestry and its many activities and programs.
Focus is published by Oregon State University College of Forestry. Our goal is to keep Forestry alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students informed about the College of Forestry and its many activities and programs.
Focus is published by Oregon State University College of Forestry. Our goal is to keep Forestry alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students informed about the College of Forestry and its many activities and programs.
Focus on Forestry is published by Oregon State University College of Forestry. Our goal is to keep Forestry alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students informed about the College of Forestry and its many activities and programs.
Listeria monocytogenes contamination continues to pose challenges for the food industry and there is demand for effective methods of food preservation and protection that can also be considered clean label. A promising source of antilisterial compounds may be sourced from bacteria that produce novel byproducts. Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified...
Pacific salmon are an integral part of ecosystems, industry, culture, and food source. Rapid declines and extirpation in many populations and species have caught the interest of environmentalists, scientists, recreational anglers, commercial fishers, general public, and economists. Billions of dollars have been spent to restore, return, improve, sustain dwindling populations...
The Northern Rubber Boa (Charina bottae) is a small, secretive boa native to the Pacific Northwest. Despite this being possibly the highest latitude boas and one of only two boas native to the continental U.S., it has received surprisingly little attention. Most of the research on the natural history of...
The experiences of Latinx youth are well-studied in U.S. schools, yet, few studies have focused on their experiences in Community Based Educational Spaces (CBES). CBES continue to be on the periphery of Education research despite the potential affordances of youth-led work in such out-of-school spaces (Baldridge, 2020). At the same...
The Goose Lake Basin, situated on the border of Oregon and California, USA, faces significant challenges from drought, wildfire, and other environmental stressors. This region hosts numerous endemic fish species such as the Goose Lake redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss newberri), Goose Lake lamprey (Entosphenus sp.), Goose Lake tui chub (Siphateles...
Modular construction is increasingly seen as an efficient construction method in terms of time, cost, and energy. The full realization of these advantages partly relies on the efficiency of the production process inside the modular factories, which currently rely on tedious manual monitoring methods or expensive automated techniques. As a...
Variation in cheese quality due to geographic location is important to cheese producers, consumers, and retailers on a global level. Understanding the impacts of geographic location of cheese plants may be useful to businesses for marketing, cost reduction, and quality improvement. Many aspects of variation due to geography have been...
The spring bloom is a key oceanic phenomenon in the Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA), where it supports the regional ecosystem, fisheries, and CO2 sequestration. Despite its significance, mechanisms that trigger NGA blooms are still debated, largely due to a lack of sufficient data from late winter through spring. New...
Our experiments aimed to investigate responses of the marine cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus to toxic arsenic species, such as arsenate, and to understand cellular mechanisms that contribute to arsenic tolerance. We used two strains of Prochlorococcus, a high-light adapted MED4 and low-light adapted MIT9313, both axenic, for cultivation experiments. For...
Motion planning is a cornerstone of autonomous robots, enabling robots to safely and efficiently perform tasks such as package delivery, infrastructure inspection, and manipulation. However, as the field of robotics matures, robotic systems are being developed that (1) are challenging to analytically model, (2) require computationally expensive model-based controllers, and...
Through a desk-top analysis, this research shows that South African women have gained and utilize specialized skills, behaviors, and adaptations through their daily activities which are useful when applied to water resource management. Further, South African women are shown to build and draw on social capital as a way to...
Distributed version control allows developers to manage software evolution among distributed development teams. But it does not eliminate all consistency and concurrency issues, and instead introduces additional complexity when merging code. And resolving merge conflicts is nontrivial when automated merging fails. In such cases, developers are forced to inspect the...
In Southern Oregon, grass seed production occupies a small acreage, but is an important part of agronomic crop production. The high value of sod quality bentgrass seed (Agrostis palustris Huds.) led to some growers supplementing soil fertilizers with foliar fertilizers in an attempt to increase seed yield. However, this practice...
The information in this report is for the purpose of informing cooperators in industry, colleagues at other universities, and others of the results of research in field crops. Reference to products and companies in this publication is for specific information only and does not endorse or recommend that product or...
The information in this report is for the purpose of informing cooperators in industry, colleagues at other universities, and others of the results of research in field crops. Reference to products and companies in this publication is for specific information only and does not endorse or recommend that product or...
The information in this report is for the purpose of informing cooperators in industry, colleagues at other universities, and others of the results of research in field crops. Reference to products and companies in this publication is for specific information only and does not endorse or recommend that product or...
The information in this report is for the purpose of informing cooperators in industry, colleagues at other universities, and others of the results of research in field crops. Reference to products and companies in this publication is for specific information only and does not endorse or recommend that product or...
The information in this report is for the purpose of informing cooperators in industry, colleagues at other universities, and others of the results of research in field crops. Reference to products and companies in this publication is for specific information only and does not endorse or recommend that product or...
The information in this report is for the purpose of informing cooperators in industry, colleagues at other universities, and others of the results of research in field crops. Reference to products and companies in this publication is for specific information only and does not endorse or recommend that product or...
Emotional understanding is important for social connection and fulfilling relationships across the lifespan. Without these skills, relationships with others can feel chaotic, unpredictable, and unattainable, affecting a person’s health and well being. Early childhood is a critical time to learn and practice foundational emotional skills that build into skills needed...
Septoria canker remains the most important disease of poplars in intensively managed forest plantations. Genetic resistance has long been considered the best way to manage for this disease. Transgenic resistance mediated by RNA silencing against pathogens and pests (HIGS: host-induced gene silencing) has shown promise in other pathosystems but has...
The California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME), located on the eastern boundary of the North Pacific Ocean, is highly dynamic, with variable conditions driven by seasonal upwelling, regional oceanography, and broad scale climate patterns. In the last decade, the northeast Pacific Ocean has experienced several marine heatwaves (MHWs), prolonged periods...
Results from vegetation management trials involving horticultural crops conducted during the past year are compiled and reported by faculty members of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, the Oregon State Extension Service, and colleagues who cooperated from adjacent states along with local enterprises. This work was conducted throughout Oregon and involved...
Results from vegetation management trials involving horticultural crops conducted during the past year are compiled and reported by faculty members of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, the Oregon State Extension Service, and colleagues who cooperated from adjacent states along with local enterprises. This work was conducted throughout Oregon and involved...
Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) systems aim to improve users’ understanding of AI but rarely consider the inclusivity aspects of XAI. Without inclusive approaches, improving explanations might not work well for everyone. This study investigates leveraging users’ diverse problem-solving styles as an inclusive strategy to fix an XAI prototype, with the...
Escalating demand for organic blueberries has driven a significant expansion of northern highbush blueberry (NHB; Vaccinium corymbosum L.) production area. This expansion is particularly pronounced in regions of the Pacific Northwest where native soil conditions are sub-optimal for NHB, notably east of the Cascade Mountain Range of Oregon and Washington,...
Since the decline of salmonid populations in the Pacific Northwest, supplementation programs have become frequently implemented by hatcheries as a way to protect and conserve wild stock. However, hatchery-reared fish have lower fitness than wild fish which is likely due to adaptation to the hatchery environment, i.e., domestication selection. Fish...
Determining the electrical properties of ceria-based materials is important for their use as electrodes in hot-wall magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generators with wall temperatures greater than 1500 ̊C. The electrical conductivity of a material can be used in models for predicting the performance of generator designs. More specifically, the temperature dependent...
In Oregon, the effects of climate change on agriculture are already being felt. In the Northwest, climate change impacts agricultural pest pressure, especially insects, whose life cycles are tied directly to weather and climate. The goal of this research was to record and analyze Oregon fruit and vegetable farmers’ relationships...
The present essay discusses themes of dehumanization and reliance on a biomedical model of care within U.S. psychiatric systems in treating individuals diagnosed with psychosis. This model is contrasted with alternative treatment approaches that are person-centered rather than disease-centered. These include Open Dialogue, Soteria, and Hearing Voices Movement. In the...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Thermal oxidation of methyl oleate was studied over a range of temperatures from 50 C to 150 C for periods of time up to 30 min. Degradation was quantitatively followed by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) and liquid scintillation counting of the products of methyl oleate-U-14C heated under a stream of...
In this issue, our group of winegrape researchers throughout the state has comprised a summary of the statewide incidence and damage caused by Short Shoot Syndrome and mites over the past few years. Be sure to check this out as it provides some interesting information! Also, a vineyard update has...
Persistent and uncontrolled inflammation is the root cause of various debilitating diseases. Given that interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinase 4 (IRAK4) is a critical modulator of inflammation, inhibition of its activity with selective drug molecules (IRAK4 inhibitors) represents a promising therapeutic strategy for inflammatory disorders. To exploit the full potential of this...
Metabolomics has recently gained momentum in biomolecule research and complements the genomics and proteomics research space. Metabolomics strives to detect, identify, and quantify all metabolites present in biological samples. In particular, biomolecular analysis using ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) has become increasingly important for metabolomic analyses. Similarly,...
The utility of high-throughput, computational screening has become an invaluable asset to the field of materials science. In the hierarchy of computational methods, the most accurate methods are often the most computationally expensive. However, as both the efficiency and fidelity of numerical techniques advance, high-quality screening of large materials datasets...
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a problem for coastal communities, the fishing industry, and coastal organisms. Pseudo-nitzschia spp. is a regularly occurring diatom in Oregon’s coastal waters. At times, Pseudo-nitzschia spp. can facultatively produce domoic acid, a neurotoxin that can bioaccumulate in the food chain. While regular shore-based sampling provides...
I conducted a field study using gray wolf and mountain lion urine to investigate white-tailed deer and mesopredator behavioral responses to novel predator cues in a natural setting and to see if any changes in wildlife activity correspond to changes in the local biodiversity of a wetland environment. I created...
Streams across the western United States are impaired from human alterations that have reduced freshwater habitat by simplifying channel complexity and disconnecting floodplains (Knox et al., 2022; Waples et al., 2008; Wohl, 2014). Climate change is likely to continue exacerbating these risks by warming summer surface stream temperatures (Crozier et...
Long-term, large-scale studies of meta-ecosystems provide critical information about how global change influences communities. In my dissertation, I analyzed data from studies encompassing 18 years (2006 – 2023) and over 1,000 km of coastline to investigate drivers of rocky intertidal community structure and dynamics. Specifically, I explored the roles of...
Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) is an important commercial species along the west coast of North America, and its population dynamics are highly influenced by interactions between environmental variability and early life history distribution. However, the distribution of the early larvae stages of Dungeness crab offshore is poorly known. To fill...
Anthropogenic induced climate change is predicted to alter distribution of existing plant populations. As plants migrate over space and time, populations often fragment and contract, affecting basic elements of population dynamics (e.g., population size, gene flow, genetic diversity, etc.). Little is known, however, how these impacts on plant species will...
Relatively little is known about how various factors influence snow water storage in forested mountain landscapes in maritime (warm winter) climates. This study took advantage of multiple snow data sources including long-term data, synoptic sampling, remote sensing, and modeling to examine factors influencing snow dynamics in the H.J. Andrews Experimental...
The conservation community has long recognized the critical role that agricultural landowners play in efforts to improve fish and wildlife habitat in order to recover threatened and endangered species. In many rural areas dominated by agricultural working landscapes, government agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) struggle to...
A secret sharing scheme allows a dealer to distribute a secret with a set of parties, such that only a certain subset of parties can collaborate and learn the shared secret. Traditional secret sharing schemes have been used as building blocks in various subdomains of cryptography. Recently, two new extensions...
Oregon State University campus grounds have long been admired for their beauty and the diversity of over 65,000 individual woody plants that grace the 570 acres of campus. The woody plant collection has provided a living learning laboratory for the university and surrounding community for decades. The campus grounds include...
Two studies evaluated the mineral status of supplemented beef cattle over two different methods of supplementation. The objective of study 1 was to evaluate the mineral status at weaning and subsequent post-weaning performance of calves supplemented prior to weaning, with limited-fed supplements fortified with trace minerals (Cu, Se, and Zn)...
This paper examines the recent evolution of aggrieved entitlement and social fragility in young white American males and the subsequent violent backlash that certain individuals in this group have unleashed upon women, the LGBTQ community, Jewish people, Black people, and other socially vulnerable populations. Throughout the past decade, America at...
Listeria monocytogenes is the third most deadly foodborne pathogen in the United States. The young and elderly, as well as pregnant and immunocompromised people are the population most susceptible to serious illness and death from listeriosis infections.
Unlike most foodborne pathogens, L. monocytogenes does not live a solely enteric lifestyle....
In this report, we present climate projections for Union County that are relevant to specified natural hazards for the 2020s (2010–2039) and 2050s (2040–2069) relative to the 1971–2000 historical baseline. The projections are based on multiple global climate models for both a lower greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 4.5) and...
In this report, we present future climate projections for Polk County relevant to specified natural hazards for the 2020s (2010–2039) and 2050s (2040–2069) relative to the 1971–2000 historical baseline. We present projections that are based on multiple global climate models for both a lower greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 4.5)...
In this report, we present climate projections for Morrow County that are relevant to specified natural hazards for the 2020s (2010–2039) and 2050s (2040–2069) relative to the 1971–2000 historical baseline. The projections are based on multiple global climate models for both a lower greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 4.5) and...
In this report, we present climate projections for Douglas County that are relevant to specified natural hazards for the 2020s (2010–2039) and 2050s (2040–2069) relative to the 1971–2000 historical baseline. The projections are based on multiple global climate models for both a lower greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 4.5) and...
In this report, we present future projections of climate and climate-related natural hazards in Benton County for the 2020s (2010–2039) and 2050s (2040–2069) relative to the 1971–2000 historical baseline. The projections are based on multiple global climate models for both a lower greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 4.5) and a...
Forced removal of Indigenous communities and subsequent colonial forest management have led to landscape homogenization, fuel abundance, conifer encroachment, and, therefore, a loss of forest and fire resilience in the Western US. This loss of forest and fire resilience leads to a loss of social resilience as forested communities struggle...
Sound is a crucial aspect of the underwater environment for fishes – various species use sound to communicate, identify predators, navigate, and many other activities needed for survival in their habitat. Disruptions and disturbances in the natural soundscape can have important impacts on all these activities and are likely to...
A dissertation describing the results of a series of greenhouse experiments conducted to better understand phytoremediation in stormwater bioretention systems.
The Peruvian cocoa sector has been growing quickly since the beginning of this century due to international demand for this commodity together with concentrated international cooperation, including NGOs and governmental agencies. Similarly, certification among cocoa producers has been growing quickly. Little is known regarding how certification impacts environmental and socioeconomic...
Diseases can be a substantial threat to woody plant production, a major industry in Oregon. Boxwood (Buxus spp.) and rhododendron (Rhododendron subgenus Rhododendron and Hymenanthes) represent the top two broadleaf evergreen woody plants by farmgate value in Oregon. Historically, Phytophthora root rot has been considered the most destructive disease of...
Coastal stream basins are of great importance to efforts aimed at refining our understanding of the earliest populations that inhabited the ancient Oregon coast. However, geomorphic responses to post-glacial sea level rise in these settings has produced depositional environments that destroy or deeply bury late Pleistocene and early Holocene-age archaeological...
In the United States, children from underserved racial/ethnic backgrounds encounter greater environmental risk both in terms of the physical environment (e.g., housing quality, access to resources like health services and jobs, and exposure to environmental toxins) and the social environment (e.g., social support, neighborhood crime, racism, and discrimination), due to...
Marine heatwaves (“MHWs”) are discrete periods of anomalously warm ocean conditions that can lead to shifts in the distribution and abundance of marine organisms. Low-trophic level, pelagic forage species are frequently among those affected by MHWs, often resulting in considerable impacts upon their predators. In the North Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic...
This study examined how annual bedload export volume and bedload characteristics were related to disturbances including logging, floods, debris slides, and wildfires over 48 to 65-year periods in small, steep catchments in conifer forests of the western Cascade Range, Oregon. Bedload – the material rolling, sliding, or saltating along the...
Concrete has been categorized as a key contributor of CO2 (carbon) emissions into the atmosphere. This is mostly associated with the production of ordinary portland cement (OPC). The concrete and cement industries are pursuing a path to reduce their carbon emissions generally in accordance with the climate change goals outlined...
Low-tech habitat restoration techniques, including Stage 0 treatments, are increasingly applied but often lack robust evaluation of their effects. In 2018, one kilometer of the South Fork McKenzie (SFMK) River, OR was modified to the Stage 0 condition for the benefit of ESA-listed Chinook by raising the incised channel to...
The objective of this dissertation is to enhance the monitoring of forest ecosystems through the utilization of remotely sensed data to address the exigencies posed by the Anthropocene. On a global scale, rising temperatures and fluctuating precipitation patterns have strained forests and produced shifts in natural disturbance regimes. Additionally, the...
As global atmospheric carbon emissions continue to rise, scientists and land managers are increasingly looking to natural ecosystems to sequester and store carbon to buffer the impacts of climate change. Despite their small geographic size, many coastal ecosystems such as salt marshes, seagrass meadows, and mangroves sequester large amounts of...
Toxin production by cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) in freshwater systems has lasting ecological and human impacts. Nutrients, light availability, hydrology, and microbial community composition impact the frequency and intensity of toxic cyanoHABs. Climate change will exacerbate toxic cyanoHABs, making real time and predictive monitoring a vital tool for managing...
In recent years, monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations have declined at an alarming rate resulting in an extensive conservation effort across the species’ migratory range. One hypothesis for declining populations is decreased reproductive success during spring migration. The eastern monarch population’s first annual generation occurs in the early spring when...
My thesis is an exploration of xánthiip (Karuk for black oak, Quercus kelloggii) restoration within the Karuk Tribe’s Ancestral Territory in present-day northwestern California. Black oak is a cultural keystone species for the Karuk and has been chosen as one of the species to guide Tribally led forest restoration work...
Global annual average temperatures are rising, creating extreme heat events or heatwaves that are increasing in frequency, length, and severity. The world will endure more of these events as climate change worsens and heat-related mortality and morbidity will increase due to warming conditions. At the center of heatwaves are urban...
This study is an ethnographic investigation of residential turnover, organizational memory, and the persistence of Lost Valley, an Oregon ecovillage founded in 1989. Literature on organizational turnover, memory, and persistence is reviewed and integrated with scholarship on intentional communities and ecovillages, generating a theoretical framework for data collection and analysis....
Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to the high reliance on sea ice for safety, transport, and social behaviors. Additionally, the walrus diet consists of predominantly bivalves, whose populations are in decline as a result of ocean acidification. We first determined the...
Multiagent approaches are well suited to designing autonomous solutions for systems that feature complex interactions between many individuals such as in autonomous traffic systems and multi-robot exploration systems. However, creating autonomous agents that function effectively in these systems is a challenging task. In these complex environments, agents need informative reward...
Tropical fruit aromas are prominent in wines like Sauvignon Blanc, one of the most abundant white wines in the United States. With high consumer interest for these aromas, it has become increasingly important to understand the factors that influence the desired tropical fruit aromas in white wines. Understanding the causes...
Assisted living facilities represent a large portion of the long-term care facilities in the United States. Although there are not uniform policies regulating assisted living facilities, debates on the best way to ensure adequate staffing center on two approaches: required ratios or acuity-based staffing. The purpose of this study is...
Molten salts have been targeted as a promising coolant for next generation reactors due to their high boiling point, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity. Despite these benefits, molten salt systems present unique materials compatibility issues, highlighted by the aggressive corrosion attack and dealloying typically seen on materials in these environments....
Cabbage maggot, Delia radicum (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) impacts the production of Brassicaceae crops worldwide. The larva feed on the roots of crops causing reductions in yields due to impaired root function and unmarketability of crops. Chemical and cultural management programs are commonly used to control cabbage maggot with varying rates of...
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) samples report elevated rates of substance use and substance use disorder compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts across a wide variety of substances (Connolly & Gilchrist, 2020; Krueger et al., 2020; Rice et al., 2019), in part due to the experience of minority stress....
This dissertation delves into understanding, characterizing, and addressing dataset shift in deep learning, a pervasive issue for deployed machine learning systems. Integral aspects of the problem are examined: We start with the use of counterfactual explanations in order to characterize the behavior of deep reinforcement learning agents in visual input...
During the first full school year of the Covid-19 pandemic, two central contexts for adolescent development—home and school—changed utterly. In Oregon, most middle- and high schoolers attended school entirely remotely from the beginning of the pandemic, in March, 2020, through the end of April, 2021, removing both the supports available...