Areas of Departmental Research
Research conducted by faculty and students of the Department of Natural Resource Sciences comprises a mix both of "basic" scientific inquiry leading to improved understanding of fundamental principles, concepts and relationships governing natural resources and ecosystems; and of applied research designed to illuminate, test and evaluate the practical use of basic research-derived knowledge in natural resource management. Most departmental research efforts can be broadly placed within the following five program areas:
- Ecophysiology and intensive culture of forest trees
- Conservation biology and landscape and restoration ecology
- Habitat, nutritional and population ecology of terrestrial wildlife
- Arid land ecology, shrub-steppe restoration, and rangeland management
- Social and economic dimensions of natural resources
Program Area 1: Ecophysiology and Intensive Culture of Forest Trees
Issues
Expanding demands for products and other amenity values of forest trees are coupled with finite resource bases that are becoming further constricted by increasing regulations governing forest management on both public and private lands. It is apparent that an increasing proportion of wood/fiber needs will by necessity have to come from intensive culture forestry, in lieu of problems faced by more extensive silvicultural practices – particularly on federal forest lands. Forest tree productivity is also subject to an increasing array of environmental perturbations, including potential effects of changes in various facets of climate and the atmosphere.
Meeting these and other issues is clearly dependent upon improved understanding of the basic autecology and ecophysiology of important forest tree species, and of responses of tree species/genotypes to environmental variables. Based upon such information, applied research on improved cultural practices and genetic tree improvement can proceed to yield improved, more sustainable productivity of and from forest trees.
Key Components
- Fundamental research on autecological and ecophysiological responses of regionally important forest tree species and/or genotypes to environmental variables, including atmospheric, water, nutritional and pathological factors.
- Applied research on tree/genotypic improvement and management practices associated with intensive culture of commercially and/or environmentally important tree species/genotypes (most notably, hybrid poplars)
- Applied and/or demonstration research on the use of selected tree species or genotypes for economic benefit and/or environmental improvement
Goals for Research
- Expand basic knowledge of tree autecology and physiologic function, and ecophysiological responses to environmental variables
- Development of improved tree species and/or genotypes to enhance productivity and/or efficiency of silvicultural systems in Washington and elsewhere
- Development of improved cultural practices and/or management strategies to enhance productivity and/or efficiency of silvicultural systems in Washington and elsewhere
- Effective dissemination of research-derived, basic/applied knowledge to both the scientific community and to potential users groups and other constituents
Internal and External Linkages
This program area involves scientists and facilities at both the main (Pullman) campus and at the Puyallup Research and Extension Center, and will involve collaboration between scientists in NRS and a number of other WSU units (e.g., Plant Pathology, Wood Products Lab, IBC, Biological Systems Engineering). NRS scientists in this program area continue to work in direct collaboration with colleagues in the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington, in continuation of the long-term cooperative hybrid poplar research program, with UW contributions most significant in the area of tree genetics/genetic improvement. Similar, although less formalized, relationships are maintained with scientists at Oregon State University. Outreach/extension efforts are conducted through the NRS/WSU statewide forestry extension team, as well as through the regional agroforestry program of USDA-NRCS. Existing relationships with the forest products industry are being maintained, and hopefully will be expanded via industry-WSU research cooperatives focusing upon specific aspects of intensive tree culture. Research funding and other forms of support/cooperation are maintained and hopefully will be expanded with a number of relevant state and federal agencies.
The primary users of information generated by this program are the forest products industry (both wood and fiber-based products), federal/state/local agencies involved in bioremediation using trees; and woodland/farm landowners interested in growing trees for economic return and/or for bioremediation purposes.
Faculty and Resources
Faculty and Resources include scholarly contributions from at least two NRS faculty members (J. Johnson and B. Moore); 1-2 dedicated NRS laboratories on the Pullman campus plus portions of the E.H. Steffen greenhouse/field plot facility; at least 1 dedicated technician, 1 laboratory, greenhouse facilities and extensive field plots at WSU-Puyallup.
Current Projects
- Physiological and genetic control of hybrid poplar nutrition (J. Johnson/WSU-Puyallup)
- Use of hybrid poplar in natural buffer systems on agricultural lands (B. Moore, J. Johnson)
- Genetic improvement of black cottonwood (J. Johnson)
- Physiology and genetics of disease resistance of short-rotation black cottonwood (J. Johnson)
- Carbon sequestration by hybrid poplars in the Pacific Northwest (J. Johnson)
Program Area 2: Conservation Biology and Landscape & Restoration Ecology
Issues
Degradation of natural resources and ecosystems, with attendant impacts on environmental quality and biodiversity, represent issues of paramount importance locally, regionally, nationally and globally. Indeed, such issues have emerged as major drivers of natural resource and agricultural policy in recent years, as evidenced by the increasing impacts of laws/regulations (e.g., Endangered Species, Clean Water, Clean Air Acts) on the practice of forestry, agriculture and other forms of resource use. It is incumbent upon the scientific community to conduct research appropriate to both improve understanding of ecosystem form, function and biodiversity (i.e., conservation biology), and to enhance our ability to preserve/conserve, improve or re-establish these ecosystem attributes following degradation (i.e., ecological restoration).
Key Components
- Fundamental research on plant/animal species and population/community ecology, and on form and function of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
- Research to assess impacts of past/present disturbances (management practices, physical/biological disturbance agents, etc.) on species and ecosystems.
- Applied research on strategies and practices to restore proper function and biological diversity to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that have been variously degraded or impacted by human activities.
Goals for Research
- Expand basic knowledge on autecology and population/community ecology of plant and animal species of local/regional significance from the standpoint of biodiversity
- Expand basic knowledge on form/function of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and on the response of such ecosystems to past/current perturbations
- Development of improved management strategies and techniques to either/both conserve-preserve existing form/function and biodiversity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, or to restore proper form, function and biodiversity to severely impacted ecosystems
- Effective dissemination of research-derived, basic/applied knowledge to both the scientific community and to potential users groups and other constituents
Internal and External Linkages
This program area involves NRS scientists and facilities at the main (Pullman) campus, and may involve collaboration between scientists in NRS and a number of other WSU units (e.g., Zoology, Water Research Center, Biological Systems Engineering). NRS scientists in this program area do or may work in direct collaboration with colleagues in the Washington Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit (University of Washington), the University of Idaho, the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station (LaGrande and Wenatchee Labs), the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (including Pullman Plant Materials Center), and the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (Universities of Washington and Montana, respectively). Outreach/extension efforts may be conducted through the NRS/WSU statewide forestry and range management extension team. Research funding and other forms of support/cooperation are maintained and hopefully will be expanded with a number of relevant state and federal agencies.
The primary users of information generated by this program will be various state and federal land/resource management and regulatory agencies, public interest/action groups focusing upon resource preservation and conservation, and private landowners (both industrial and non-industrial) with either/both a commitment to or mandate for natural resource conservation and improvement.
Faculty and Resources
Faculty and Resources include scholarly contributions from at least three NRS faculty members (B. Zamora, R. Sayler and B. Moore); 3 dedicated NRS laboratories on the Pullman campus plus portions of the E.H. Steffen greenhouse/field plot facility.
Current Projects
- Palouse Prairie Restoration (R. Sayler)
- Evaluation of selected Pacific Northwest Eriogonum species for revegetation of mine spoils (B. Zamora)
- Revegetation and resoiling of abandoned uranium mined lands (B. Zamora)
- Effects of fire on rare plant species in the Okanogan National Forest (B. Zamora)
- Habitat analysis of Salix tweedyii (B. Zamora)
- Biological impacts and efficacy of microfloc alum injection for lake restoration (B. Moore)
- Teratogenicity of heavy metals to larval chironomids (B. Moore)
- Effects of livestock grazing on pygmy rabbits in eastern Washington (R. Sayler, L. Shipley and L. Hardesty)
Program Area 3: Habitat, Nutritional and Population Ecology of Terrestrial Wildlife
Issues
Terrestrial wildlife have long comprised a focus of intense public interest, from standpoints of both aesthetic (and sometimes, economic) value and recognized importance as essential functional components of properly functioning natural ecosystems. This interest has promoted promulgation of an array of state/federal laws and regulations designed to protect, conserve and/or increase wildlife populations that have greatly influenced the mode of natural resource management on both public and private lands over the past several decades. In consequence, wildlife issues and attendant regulatory requirements have become extraordinarily important to the practice of forestry, livestock grazing, agriculture and other forms of natural resource use.
Improved understanding of nutritional and behavioral ecology of wildlife species, and how such ecology influences habitat requirements, is of critical importance to developing strategies for management of wildlife populations, and for integrating management of other resources/resource values with wildlife concerns in a manner that does not negatively impact wildlife. Our program in this area therefore incorporates both basic research on wildlife species and population characteristics and attributes, and research on the application of fundamental knowledge for improved on-the-ground management. Species of emphasis for work in this program area include both mammalian carnivores (e.g., grizzly and black bears; cougars) and mammalian herbivores (e.g., caribou, elk, deer, beaver).
Key Components
- Fundamental research on nutritional requirements of wildlife species, and habitat/population management implications
- Fundamental research on feeding/foraging ecology and diet characteristics of wildlife species, and habitat/management implications
- Fundamental and applied research on population and habitat ecology of sensitive (including threatened/endangered) wildlife species
- Applied research on management strategies and practices to conserve wildlife species, solve wildlife-related managerial problems and promote concurrent management for wildlife and other natural resource values
Goals for Research
- Expand basic knowledge on nutritional requirements, feeding/foraging ecology and habitat/population ecology of wild terrestrial carnivores and herbivores
- Develop improved wildlife population and habitat management strategies and techniques to conserve/preserve existing populations of important wildlife species; restore or increase depleted populations of important wildlife species; resolve specific wildlife-related natural resource management problems; and/or promote co-existence of wildlife and other natural resource values in terrestrial ecosystems
- Effectively disseminate research-derived, basic/applied knowledge to both the scientific community and to potential users groups and other constituents
Internal and External Linkages
This program area involves NRS scientists and facilities at the main (Pullman) campus, and may involve collaboration between scientists in NRS and other WSU units (e.g., Zoology ). NRS scientists in this program area do or may work in direct collaboration with colleagues in the Washington Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit (University of Washington), the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station (Wenatchee Lab), and the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (Universities of Washington and Montana, respectively). Outreach/extension efforts may be conducted through the NRS/WSU statewide natural resource extension team. Research funding and other forms of support/collaboration are maintained and hopefully will be expanded with a number of relevant state and federal agencies, most notably the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the USDI Fish and Wildlife Service.
The primary users of information generated by this program are various state and federal land/resource management and regulatory agencies, public interest/action groups focusing upon wildlife preservation and conservation, and private landowners (both industrial and non-industrial) with either/both a commitment to or mandate for wildlife conservation and management.
Faculty and Resources
Faculty and Resources include scholarly contributions from at least four NRS faculty members (C. Robbins, L. Shipley, R. Sayler and R. Wielgus) plus a staff member dedicated to managing the NRS Wildlife Habitat Laboratory (B. Davitt ); 2 dedicated NRS + 1 Zoology laboratories on the Pullman campus; the NRS Wildlife Habitat Laboratory; the Bear Research Facility; and portions of the E.H. Steffen greenhouse/field plot facility (Small Mammal Research Facility + wildlife holding pens).
Current Projects
- Effects of livestock grazing on pygmy rabbits in eastern Washington (R. Sayler, L. Shipley and L. Hardesty)
- Nutritional ecology of large mammals (C. Robbins)
- Feeding ecology of brown bears in Alaska (C. Robbins)
- Limitations to herbivory and frugivory in brown bears (C. Robbins)
- Feeding ecology of black bears in managed forests of Washington (C. Robbins)
- Biosafety of Brucella abortus vaccine in grizzly bears (C. Robbins)
- Responses of mammalian herbivores to spatial heterogeneity expressed at multiple scales (L. Shipley)
- Ecological correlates of reproductive season in Eld's deer (L. Shipley)
- Predicting nutritional value of foods for beaver (L. Shipley)
- Effects of forest fragmentation on cougar predation of endangered mountain caribou (R. Wielgus)
- Minimum population estimate and limiting factors for North Cascades grizzly bears (R. Wielgus)
- Comparative habitat use, predation and population growth of sympatric mule deer and white tailed deer populations (R. Wielgus)
- Behavioral ecology of black bear damage to conifer plantations (R. Wielgus)
Program Area 4: Arid Land Ecology, Shrub-Steppe Restoration, and Rangeland Management
Issues
Rangeland ecosystems (non-forested shrub and grasslands + grazeable woodlands) cover nearly one-third of the land base of Washington, and hence comprise both an important resource base for the state's livestock industry and (by virtue of extensiveness and distribution) an extremely important source for a wide array of environmental, social and aesthetic values. Significant concerns exist on the aggregate ecological health and productivity of Washington's rangelands that impact both the level and sustainability of the diversity of economic, environmental and social values currently/potentially realizable from such ecosystems. Important questions surround a number of currently pressing issues, including invasive species (i.e., weeds) and otherwise undesirable composition/productivity of plant communities; impacts of livestock grazing on riparian zones/fisheries and other aspects of watershed function; and interactions between livestock grazing and other aspects of rangeland use/value (e.g., wildlife, forestry, biodiversity). It is important that the scientific community respond to such issues to comprehensively address natural resource needs of the State. This program area does so through research emphasis both on basic conceptual foundations of range management and livestock management systems, and on basic and applied research focusing upon understanding rangeland ecosystem structure, function and response to varied managerial inputs.
Key Components
- Fundamental scholarship to review, synthesize and evaluate past/current principles and concepts of range and livestock management, and to propose new and/or improved principles/concepts needed to advance the scientific underpinnings of rangeland management
- Applied research designed to describe the response of rangeland ecosystem conditions and processes to managerial and environmental variables, and hence to develop improved range management strategies and practices
Goals for Research
- Development of new or refined concepts and fundamental principles for range management science
- Expansion of basic knowledge on the structure and functional processes of rangeland ecosystems, and their responses to managerial and environmental perturbations
- Development of improved rangeland management strategies, methods and techniques that address needs of rangeland users, sustainability of multiple values of/from rangeland ecosystems, and maintenance/improvement of ecological conditions
- Effective dissemination of research-derived, basic/applied knowledge to both the scientific community and to potential users groups and other constituencies
Internal and External Linkages
This program area involves NRS scientists and facilities at the main (Pullman) campus, and may involve collaboration between scientists in NRS and other WSU units (e.g., Animal Science). NRS scientists in this program area do or may work in direct collaboration with colleagues at the University of Idaho, Oregon State University, and in the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station (La Grande and/or Wenatchee Labs). Outreach/extension efforts will be conducted through the NRS range management extension team. Research funding and other forms of support/collaboration are derived from and may be expanded with a number of relevant state and federal agencies, most notably the Washington Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the USDI Bureau of Land Management.
The primary users of information generated by this program are various state and federal land/resource management and regulatory agencies, private landowners (particularly the ranching sector), and public interest/action groups focusing upon conservation and management of rangeland resources.
Faculty and Resources
Faculty and Resources include scholarly contributions from at least two NRS faculty members (L. Hardesty and B. Zamora plus a staff member dedicated to managing the NRS Wildlife Habitat Laboratory (B. Davitt); the NRS Wildlife Habitat Laboratory; and portions of the E.H. Steffen greenhouse/field plot facility.
Current Projects
- Grazing influences on seral forest ecosystem processes (L. Hardesty)
- Ecology of Pacific northwest Eriogonums (B. Zamora)
- Effects of livestock grazing on pygmy rabbits in eastern Washington (R. Sayler, L. Shipley and L. Hardesty)
- Ecological approaches to control of Phalaris arundinacea in northwest wetlands (L. Hardesty)
Program Area 5: Social and Economic Dimensions of Natural Resource Sciences
Issues
Natural resources provide a wide array of economic, social, environmental and aesthetic values to society that, in aggregate, contribute largely to the overall social well-being of our state, nation and world. We live in an age of often-competing values of and from natural resources, wherein values/interests of different segments of society are often in real - or perceived - conflict with those of others (e.g., environmental vs. economic values of natural resources). Significant policy and management questions have thus arisen over appropriate balance afforded to different resource values, and over the concurrent sustainability of multiple values ranging from commodity to environmental to aesthetic/spiritual. It becomes essential to integrate socioeconomic with ecological research to derive answers to such complex questions.
The approach of this NRS program area on social and economic dimensions therefore is to address economic, social and policy issues of direct relevance to natural resources in a fashion that incorporates socioeconomic concerns (and input from social science fields) with those of the various fields of applied ecology relevant to resource management. The former include two inter-related foci of research on economic and sociologic aspects of natural resource values and uses.
Key Components
- Fundamental research on the nature and importance of natural resource-based economies in Washington and elsewhere in the region
- Fundamental research on the nature of social structures, values, relationships, processes and policies in relation to and as dependent upon natural resources
- Applied research on development of refined or new economic potentials based upon natural resources
- Basic and applied research on socioeconomic adaptability to change in natural resource policies, and means to promote such adaptability
- Applied research on development of means to resolve social conflict and enhance sustainability and compatibility of socioeconomic and ecological/environmental values of and from natural resources.
Goals for Research
- Expand basic knowledge on social and economic dimensions of natural resource values and management in Washington and elsewhere in the region.
- Develop information promoting new and/or improved means to attain sustainable and environmentally/socially acceptable economic benefit from natural resources
- Develop strategies and approaches to increase adaptability to changes in resource management and policies in resource-dependent communities/sectors of society
- Develop and demonstrate new and/or refined approaches for conflict resolution on natural resource issues
- Effective dissemination of research-derived, basic/applied knowledge to both the scientific community and to potential users groups and other constituents
Internal and External Linkages
This program area involves NRS scientists and facilities at the main (Pullman) campus, and may involve collaboration between scientists in NRS and a number of other WSU units (e.g., Agricultural Economics, Rural Sociology, Sociology, Political Science). NRS scientists in this program area have established linkages, and do or may work in direct collaboration with, colleagues at several other regional universities (e.g., Idaho, Oregon State, Washington, Montana, Utah State), the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station, and the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (Universities of Washington and Montana, respectively). Outreach/extension efforts may be conducted through the NRS/WSU statewide forestry and range management extension team. Research funding and other forms of support/cooperation are maintained and hopefully will be expanded with a number of relevant state and federal agencies.
The primary users of information generated by this program are various state and federal land/resource management and regulatory agencies, public advisory groups to those agencies, local governments and NGO's, public interest/action groups, and private landowners (both industrial and non-industrial) in both the forestry and range management sectors.
Faculty and Resources
Faculty and resources include scholarly contributions from at least two NRS faculty members (K. Blatner and M. Carroll), and 1 dedicated NRS laboratory on the Pullman campus.
Current Projects
- Contribution of an expanded special forest products industry to community and economic development (K. Blatner)
- Operability of new forest management regimes (K. Blatner)
- Analysis of the Inland Northwest wood products industry (K. Blatner)
- Comparative financial risks of small, medium and large-scale investment options for utilizing small diameter timber in the West (K. Blatner)
- Local use of wild edible huckleberries and other non-timber forest products on the Colville National Forest (K. Blatner, M. Carroll)
- Survey of non-industrial private forest landowners in Washington state (K. Blatner, M. Carroll)
- Application of collaborative learning to CROP lands on the Colville National Forest (K. Blatner, M. Carroll)
- Natural resource-based communities in the era of globalization (M. Carroll)
- Community impacts from wildfire (M. Carroll)
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