When designing or retrofitting an irrigation
system, one of the key decisions is picking the
proper size pipes and fittings for the system. The
best pipe size or fitting is not always the one with
the lowest initial cost. The important consideration
is the lowest cost of ownership. The objective...
More than 4.5 million acres in the Pacific Northwest are irrigated with electric-powered sprinkler systems. Center pivots are used on about 1.25 million acres. Irrigation runoff can be a problem on many of these sprinkler-irrigated fields.
Every year in North America homes in the Wildland-Urban interface (WUI) are destroyed by wildfires. The creation of defensible space around homes in the WUI, through the management of vegetation can help mitigate some of the risk posed by fire. While many homeowners recognize the need for defensible space around...
The physical controls of snowmelt in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) are poorly
understood. While there have been numerous field and modeling investigations at the
plot and watershed scale, few studies have identified how the snow energy balance
(EB) components vary in importance both spatially and temporally. The identification
of how...
The US industrial sector accounts for about one-third of the nation’s energy consumption and is predicted to grow twice as quickly as other sectors through 2050. International organizations such as the International Energy Agency project energy efficiency improvements will account for over 40% of greenhouse gas emissions reductions through 2040....
This research is concerned with the current debate among Oregonians on how to improve the standard of living and accelerate economic development in Oregon. The main question is what economic activities make Oregon, and regions within Oregon grow? To find out where Oregon's economic strength and weaknesses lie, first we...
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...
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...
The sensitive lichen Usnea longissima Ach., formerly a fairly common circumboreal species, has been extirpated from much of its range (e.g., Eastern Europe). Although the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) remains a relative stronghold for the species, U longissima faces increasing pressure in the region from habitat loss, air pollution, and...