About the OSU College of Forestry: For a century, the College of Forestry has been a world class center of teaching, learning and research. It offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in sustaining ecosystems, managing forests and manufacturing wood products; conducts basic and applied research on the nature and use of forests; and operates more than 15,000 acres of college forests.

Snow cover critical for revegetation following high-severity forest fires, OSU study shows

CORVALLIS, Ore. – How much and how long a severely burned Pacific Northwest mountain landscape stays blanketed in winter snow is a key factor in the return of vegetation, research by Oregon State University and the University of Nevada, Reno shows.

OSU research helps uncover strikingly simple means of diagnosing ecosystem health

An international collaboration including Oregon State University researcher Bev Law says the health of a terrestrial ecosystem can be largely determined by three variables: vegetations’ ability to uptake carbon, its efficiency in using carbon and its efficiency in using water.

OSU study: Thinning moderates forest fire behavior even without prescribed burns – for a while

Mechanical thinning alone can calm the intensity of future wildfires for many years, and prescribed burns lengthen thinning’s effectiveness, according to Oregon State University research involving a seasonally dry ponderosa pine forest in northeastern Oregon.

Oregon State scientists collaborate on road map for adapting dry forests to new fire regimes

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University scientists and collaborators from throughout the West say that thinning and prescribed burning are crucial parts of adaptive management for seasonally dry, fire-dependent forests such as those east of the Cascade crest.

Earth’s vital signs worsen amid business-as-usual mindset on climate change

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Twenty months after declaring a climate emergency and establishing a set of vital signs for the Earth, a coalition headed by two Oregon State University researchers says the updated vital signs “largely reflect the consequences of unrelenting business as usual.”

Roadless forests see more blazes and greater severity, but fire resilience is the result

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Roadless national forests in the American West burn more often and at a slightly higher severity than national forests without roads, but the end result for the roadless forests is greater fire resilience, Oregon State University researchers say.

Don’t worry, birds won’t become dependent on you feeding them, OSU study suggests

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University researchers have some good news for the well-meaning masses who place bird feeders in their yards: The small songbirds who visit the feeders seem unlikely to develop an unhealthy reliance on them.

New models predict fewer lightning-caused ignitions but bigger wildfires by mid century

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Human-caused wildfire ignitions in Central Oregon are expected to remain steady over the next four decades and lightning-caused ignitions are expected to decline, but the average size of a blaze from either cause is expected to rise, Oregon State University modeling suggests.

Oregon State research shows why some pockets of conifer survive repeated forest fires

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University researchers say “topographic templates” can help forest conservation managers develop strategies for protecting and restoring the most fire-resistant parts of vulnerable forests across a range of ecosystems.

Research suggests eucalyptus trees can be genetically modified not to invade native ecosystems

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Eucalyptus, a pest-resistant evergreen valued for its hardy lumber and wellness-promoting oil, can be genetically modified not to reproduce sexually, a key step toward preventing the global tree plantation staple from invading native ecosystems.

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