Research Awards and Grants (January 2021-October 2021)

October 29, 2021 CNR Web

Each month College of Natural Resources faculty receive awards and grants from various federal, state, and nongovernmental agencies in support of their research. This report recognizes the faculty who received funding between January 2021 and October 2021.

North American, European, and Global Forest Product Market Projections to Evaluate Economic, Demographic, and Biophysical Change

PI: Abt, Robert C.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $110,000

Abstract: The primary objective of the proposed study is to understand the direct effects of sea level rise on markets for forest products in the United States, and through that, global markets and forest conditions nationwide.

PIRE: Confronting Energy Poverty: Building an Interdisciplinary Evidence Base, Network, and Capacity for Transformative Change

PI: Grieshop, Andrew
Direct Sponsor Name: UNC – UNC Chapel Hill
Amount Awarded: $759,639

Abstract: Overview Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of the global challenge of energy poverty, with the absolute number of energy poor projected to increase through 2030. Energy poverty has implications for climate, environmental sustainability, human health, and well-being, with negative impacts realized at individual and collective-scales, and in local, regional, and global contexts. The complex socio-environmental challenge of energy poverty requires contributions from the basic, applied, and social sciences, and integration of evidence and learning using robust interdisciplinary frameworks. We will partner with and facilitate the networking of academic, practitioner, and policy communities in the US and Southern Africa to fill critical gaps in the theoretical and empirical evidence base regarding mitigating energy poverty. International partnership is critical to the identification of important and representative energy poverty innovations to study, to creating a network of institutions using common frameworks, research design, and empirical strategies, and to cultivating long-term interdisciplinary energy poverty research capacity in the Southern Africa region. Intellectual Merit Our aim is to build an interdisciplinary evidence base and network focused on energy poverty in Southern Africa, building capacity for transformative change. We center our research and capacity building around three themes: technology and incentives; space and place; and population and environment dynamics. We will measure the air quality, land use, and human welfare impacts of a representative set of technology and behavioral interventions designed to mitigate energy poverty. Based upon knowledge generated, we test new approaches for using and integrating appropriate technology and incentives to address energy poverty. In the second theme, we will investigate the spatial dimension of energy poverty by analyzing neighborhood effects as determinants of energy poverty, and consider the question of optimal scale of implementation of energy poverty interventions for maximizing environmental benefits and social welfare outcomes. Finally, we will investigate sustainable wood energy systems as a potential strategy for coping with the challenge of population and environment dynamics in the region, and analyze the associated environmental and economic synergies and trade-offs. This PIRE is innovative for several reasons. First, we use rigorous quantitative interdisciplinary impact evaluation as the anchor for our research and training program. We seek to study what works, why it works, and over what spatial and temporal scale. Second, the study of energy poverty is highly fragmented across a large number of disciplines with very little cross-fertilization or engagement with interdisciplinary frameworks including complex socio-ecological systems and population and environment dynamics. We use these important theoretical lenses to shed new light on this highly intractable problem, and to guide a coherent body of empirical research. Third, despite facing a looming crisis, energy poverty in Southern Africa is dramatically understudied. Broader Impacts Research findings from this study will provide new theoretical and empirical knowledge on energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa to academics, practitioners, and policy makers. We will build new networks and promote collaborative research and exchange among over 50 scientists, graduate, and undergraduate students across the US and Southern Africa, with the aim of creating a robust interdisciplinary network of scholars. To facilitate this, we will coordinate a series of regional training workshops focused on interdisciplinary energy poverty research. A central component of the PIRE is continuous engagement with policy makers and practitioners. We will organize a series of regional policy workshops that will take place at regular intervals during the life of the Energy Poverty PIRE. We propose several innovations in teaching and scholarship that will benefit the academic community including: development of a

Building a Culture of and Capacity for EE Evaluation: 2.0 Addendum

PI: Stevenson, Kathryn
Direct Sponsor Name: Duke University
Amount Awarded: $29,626

Abstract: Pisces Foundation has invited Charlotte Clark from Duke University and colleagues to submit an addendum to an ongoing effort to study collective evaluation efforts across the field of environmental education. The NC State team has been asked to characterizing the landscape of collective evaluation in EE beyond our case studies. This will include sleuthing out candidate networks, developing a relationship with a leader in that network, and documenting their work using an interview guide collaboratively developed with the Duke team. Work may also include creating a social network analysis of collaboratives engaging in collective evaluation, led by KC Busch. In addition, Kathryn Stevenson will co-chair the Promising Practices Working Group, which will include preparation time and calls/virtual meetings, as well as other tasks as needed.

Examining the Impact of Family and Organizational Culture on the Work-Nonwork Relationship of Intercollegiate Athletic Department Employees

PI: Bunds, Kyle S
Direct Sponsor Name: UNC – UNC Chapel Hill
Amount Awarded: $4,850

Abstract: Abstract College sport provides an interesting context to study the work-life balance of employees due to the competitive nature of the industry, long, nontraditional work hours, frequent travel, lack of time-off, and pressure to succeed. Previous research has examined the experiences of coaches, athletic administrators, and support staff finding high levels of work-life conflict, burnout, and work addiction. However, limited research has looked at (a) the impact of organizational culture on levels of work-life balance and (b) examined the impact on the employee’s family members. A mixed method approach will be utilized to capture data from athletic department employees and their partners. The results from surveys and interviews will be used to disseminate strategies for navigating work-life imbalance and practical solutions to improve organizational culture throughout the ACC.

Perceptions of ACC Sport Psychologists and Athletic Trainers on Mental- Health Strategies for Student-Athletes

PI: Bocarro, Jason N.
Direct Sponsor Name: UNC – UNC Chapel Hill
Amount Awarded: $1,700

Abstract: The NCAA, along with the ACC, has recognized the growing issue of mental health among student-athletes. Despite the increase in mental health issues, there is a concern that institutional resources devoted to supporting the clinical and psychological needs of student-athletes is lacking. This issue has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected university athletic departments’ finances while simultaneously increasing the stress on student-athletes. Although a growing body of research has explored factors behind student-athlete mental health during this pandemic, little research has explored the scope and best practices of mental health services that may be effective in supporting student-athletes. This study will conduct focus groups with 20 sport psychologists and athletic trainers across the ACC Schools to provide both context of current issues facing student-athletes and explore their insights of current initiatives and resources designed to provide the best mental health support during a challenging period.

Aquatic Biodegradability of Textile Materials: Impact of Dyes and Finishes

PI: Venditti, Richard A.
Direct Sponsor Name: Cotton, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $207,840

Abstract: It is proposed that we extend the findings of the prior research (17-579) to evaluate several different dyes and finishes for fabrics and determine their impact on the aerobic aquatic biodegradation of the fabric particles. 2)We will also perform degradation experiments under anaerobic conditions for the same samples as listed. 3)Samples of the degraded cotton samples will be collected and provided to NCSU College of Textiles (Nelson Vinueza) in order for Textiles to perform chemical characterization of the dyes, finishes and their degradation products.

Loblolly Pine-switchgrass Intercropping for Sustainable Timber and Biofuels Production in the Southeastern United States

PI: King, John S
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)
Amount Awarded: $802,970

Abstract: Dependence on fossil fuel energy exposes the U.S. to potentially catastrophic climate change, economic instability, and risks to national security. Development of alternative energy sources that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable is urgently needed. If done in regionally appropriate contexts, sustainably managed bioenergy production systems could improve environmental quality and benefit rural communities. While the Southeastern U.S. hosts some of the highest net primary productivity rates in the Nation, it is unknown how intensive production of biofuels feedstocks will affect traditional agriculture and forestry sectors, on-site soil resources, and carbon cycling and sequestration. Our overall goal is to develop a pine-switchgrass bioenergy production system based on regionally appropriate crops and indigenous biomass production and handling practices that will benefit economic development and the environment. We believe that by managing the competitive interactions between the overstory tree and the understory grass, site resource use efficiencies increase. We hypothesize the asynchronous physiology and growth of the C3 trees and C4 grass along with the different soil horizons exploited by the respective root systems will allow for greater nutrient retention and more efficient utilization of site water. We also hypothesize that the additional soil volume exploited by switchgrass roots and associated fine root turnover, will increase soil organic C, thus increasing C sequestration. The cornerstone of the proposed project is a 70 acre fully replicated field experiment installed in the Lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina. The research will evaluate the sustainability, multi-functionality, and ecosystem services provisioning of switchgrass and pine managed separately or in combination as an agroforestry system. The project’s success will require industry to partner with a multidisciplinary team of scientists from academia and government. We are requesting support from USDA for the initial science (first 5 years) needed to quantify the productivity, ecological sustainability, and C implications of this novel multifunctional vegetation management system. This long-term, ecosystem-level study is made possible by the substantial in-kind support from corporate partners to operationally maintain the field experiment for ecological and economic time scales. This research project will deliver a new multifunction forest-bioenergy management system and evaluate effects on carbon sequestration and cycling relative to traditional management. It will provide data on sustainability, implications for regional water supplies, biodiversity conservation, and potential for rural economic development.

Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Biltmore Hills Park to improve water quality and reduce flooding impacts of Rochester Heights Creek

PI: Perrin, Christy A.
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
Amount Awarded: $197,274

Abstract: The highly urbanized Walnut Creek Watershed flows from downtown Cary and through part of downtown Raleigh into the Neuse River. Erosive stormwater flows from an increasing percentage of impervious areas have impaired the aquatic life of Walnut Creek and placed it on the EPA 303(d) list. In order to effectively and efficiently improve water quality of Walnut Creek, it is critical to address site-specific issues throughout the watershed. The Rochester Heights Creek drainage area, a tributary of Walnut Creek in Southeast Raleigh, has been selected as a focus area for restoration to reduce stormwater flows, reduce erosion and sedimentation, and address downstream flooding of private properties. This focus area is the first of a new online watershed plan called the Walnut Creek Watershed Action Tool (WAT) that is being developed by the NC Division of Water Resources. Rochester Heights Creek flows through parts of the Biltmore Hills and Rochester Heights neighborhoods, the first planned developments for African Americans in Raleigh. Properties adjacent to the lower part of the creek experience regular backyard flooding, and some are located within and immediately adjacent to the FEMA 100-year floodplain, placing them at high risk for major flooding following increasingly intense rainfall events. This project proposes to install several stormwater control measures (SCM), including bioretention, swales and rainwater harvesting systems, to treat stormwater runoff in Biltmore Hills Park before it enters Rochester Heights Creek. The activities performed within this project will be the first contribution to a larger effort within the Rochester Heights Focus Area to reduce flows and erosion, address the impacts that common rain storms have on downstream neighbors, and engage the local community in water quality education, and project planning and implementation. Further, this will be a demonstration site for SCM projects developed with a historically marginalized community that address environmental and social watershed problems. By improving water quality and engaging the community in those efforts, this project aims to directly benefit the Rochester Heights Creek sub-watershed as well as the larger Walnut Creek, into which it drains, and could serve as a model for future efforts within the state of NC more broadly.

High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) as a Diagnostic Tool to Assist Groundwater Monitoring Recommendations from Local Health Departments to Private Well Users

PI: Nichols, Elizabeth Guthrie
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Water Resources Research Institute
Amount Awarded: $10,000

Abstract: The Association of Public Health Laboratories and the NC Department of Health and Human Services recommend that private well users test their groundwater every five years for 53 possible organic chemicals. The selection of which chemicals to measure is often confusing and frustrating to private well users and to local health departments (LHD) who make recommendations for testing. One cannot test for all 53 analytes with just one analytical method, and this list excludes many organic chemicals pending Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulation and literally thousands of other chemicals and degradation products that could be present in the water. Hence, there is a gap in water quality information for private well users and LHD across urban and rural settings. My project is a collaborative effort with the Wake County Groundwater and Well Program, or WCGWP, (see Letter of Support) to assess the presence of thousands of organic chemicals and assist with county recommendations for groundwater quality analyses to private well users. I will use gas chromatography (GC) coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) as a diagnostic tool to screen private wells for thousands of regulated and non-regulated volatile and semi-volatile chemicals including solvents, pesticides, aromatic hydrocarbons, pharmaceutical and consumer product chemicals, endocrine disruptors, PCBs, and many other synthetic chemicals and their degradation products. The HRMS results will be compared to recent analyses of the same wells by WCGWP to evaluate HRMS efficacy for early detection of SDWA organic chemicals. The primary outcome of my effort is to assist WCGWP with their organic analyte selection recommendations to private well users.

Sustainability Packaging for the Meat & Poultry Industry

PI: Lavoine, Nathalie Marie
Direct Sponsor Name: Tipper Tie, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $5,000

Abstract: A series of meat products and packaging for meat (ground beef, ground sausage, alt-meat (beyond meat), pet food) will be purchased, evaluated, and compared with respect to their environmental impact and sustainability. The number of packaging/products will be 12 and the products agreed to by the sponsor. A very basic Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to determine sustainability parameters/measures will be performed on these packaging, comparing the same weight of meat. The data will be collected through a literature review and some laboratory-based measurements of the purchased packaging to conduct the analysis. Measured data will include packaging material types and quantities, waste meat amounts, and storage/transportation volumes. These will be used to calculate sustainability indicators such as storage electricity consumption, transportation requirements and emissions, waste meat per unit used meat product, volumes and mass of packaging to be disposed of per volume of meat, qualitative discussions on biodegradability of the packaging.

Develop NPS-RI Wildland Fire and Aviation Management Program

PI: Vukomanovic, Jelena
Direct Sponsor Name: US National Park Service
Amount Awarded: $30,000

Abstract: One infographic product highlighting Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 accomplishments of NPS-RI Wildland Fire and Aviation Management Program. It will include the approximate cost (and funding source) of fuels treatment in FY 2020, focusing on the allocation of funds from various sources (Operation of the NPS (ONPS), national, regional, park, etc.).

Repellent Compounds for Deer Browse Control in Fraser Fir

PI: Whitehill, Justin
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Christmas Tree Association
Amount Awarded: $3,000

Abstract: Christmas tree farms suffer extensive deer browse injury no matter tree size. Deer browse can lead to significant losses and increased costs of production. Existing strategies to deter deer browse on valuable Fraser fir production include hunting, temporary fencing, and chemical repellents. However, these methods provide only partial protection and eventually fail. Christmas tree growers need alternative strategies to overcome this persistent pest. A new product called Trico has been tested on Canadian Christmas tree farms and shown promise as a volatile deterrent to deer entering plantations. Another alternative control strategy is presented by the presence of volatile deer deterrents naturally occurring within the trees themselves. Observations of experimental trials suggest natural genetic variation among Abies species for deer browse preference. These differences appear to be driven by variation in the volatile profiles of terpenes emitted by the trees. To assist growers, we plan to evaluate the role that volatile chemicals play in deer browse preference and deterrence. To accomplish these goals we plan to: (1) test the efficacy of the newly identified product Trico compared to currently used products; and (2) characterize the natural genetic variation among of the volatile terpene profiles of eight different species including Fraser, Nordmann, Noble, Balsam, Concolor, Grand, Korean, and Turkish fir. Tests of Trico will be performed at 3 Christmas Fraser fir tree farms. Samples for terpene chemistry will be collected from a single timepoint in mid-October to establish a baseline of fir terpene chemistry. Terpene compounds will be evaluated at NC State University’s METRIC core analytical facility. Results of these experiments will provide new information that will help in the development of effective deer browse management strategies.

Mariculture Tourism: Cultivating Consumer Demand & Coastal Community Supply

PI: Knollenberg, Whitney Grace
Direct Sponsor Name: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Amount Awarded: $119,784

Abstract: This study proposes to develop a profile of potential shellfish mariculture tourists so coastal communities can capitalize on the growing interest in food tourism. This will be accomplished through a combination of survey, asset mapping, and comparison techniques. First, a survey will be conducted of food tourists who intend to visit Atlantic coastal states to identify potential shellfish mariculture tourists’ experience preferences and the barriers to their participation. Then community-based asset mapping will be conducted with NC community stakeholders, including tourism and economic development officials, shellfish mariculture producers, residents, and other coastal industry members to identify existing shellfish mariculture tourism assets. These findings will be compared to the current shellfish mariculture tourism product supply in NC coastal communities to identify how demand for shellfish mariculture tourism can be met. Finally, a suite of prototype NC shellfish mariculture tourism outreach materials will be developed which will be tested for their ability to connect with potential shellfish mariculture tourists and stimulate demand for shellfish mariculture products.

EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems: Cultivating a Profitable Local Food Industry Cluster through Entrepreneurial and Business Support, Infrastructure Development, Training, Leadership Development and Capacity Building.

PI: Lauffer, Laura Warren
Direct Sponsor Name: Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
Amount Awarded: $1,100,000

Abstract: This project will develop a comprehensive model program for developing an industry cluster around local foods focused on entrepreneurship, business development, job creation and workforce development, training, providing career ladder opportunities, and growing community leadership for lasting change. This work will be focused in the 7 county foodshed region of the Southwestern Commission (Region A Council of Governments), which includes North Carolina’s most distressed counties. and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).This comprehensive model will build on work that has already occurred in the 7 county region and through grant funding to the Southwestern Commission from the NC Rural Center, through a nascent regional local food advisory council that included participants representing food banks, funders, public health and health organizations, NC Commerce, agriculture organizations (including USDA, NCDA, and Cooperative Extension), academic institutions (Western Carolina and the three community colleges in the regions), the faith based community, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Southwestern Commission, and through many of the other partners we are engaging who work in the food systems sector. The work also builds on the expertise and experience of over 24 years of statewide work of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), a partnership of NC State University, NC A&T State University, and the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. CEFS is excited to bring lessons learned and best practices from a comprehensive list of relevant projects (www.cefs.ncsu.edu) to develop this industry cluster with community partners, and together boost the economy of western NC. This project overlaps with four of the five strategic investment goals of the five-year ARC strategic plan including providing economic opportunities, workforce development, leveraging the region’s natural assets, and building capacity and skills for long lasting change. This project also overlaps with the goal of providing critical infrastructure needed to build a sustainable regional local food economy. The region recognized the opportunity for economic development based in local food systems, as has the Appalachian Regional Commission, which hosted a forum in Asheville NC in 2012 titled Growing Appalachian Food Economy, and funded various food systems and entrepreneurship projects in North Carolina over the last five years, including five in food systems since 2013 for a total investment of $310,000, and four in entrepreneurship training since 2013 for a total investment of $430,000. This project aligns fully with three of the four investment priorities of the POWER initiative, including: building a competitive workforce, fostering entrepreneurial activities, and developing industry clusters. What is unique about this effort is the opportunity to develop an industry cluster through implementing many disparate food systems projects in one target area (vs scattered statewide) as a comprehensive model that can be transferable to other coal-impacted areas in the nation. The opportunity to do a deep-dive in this region with ready and willing partners and all of our collective assets makes for a compelling opportunity to build on existing momentum and significantly improve the region’s economy.

Growing Greener Foundations through Parks with Purpose with the Walnut Creek Wetlands Community, Year Three

PI: Perrin, Christy A.
Direct Sponsor Name: Conservation Fund
Amount Awarded: $27,500

Abstract: TCF has selected the Walnut Creek Wetland Community Partnership, with the fiscal agency of and supported by NC State University’s Water Resource Research Institute (NCSU WRRI), and NCSU College of Natural Resources as a key partner organization for the PWP Initiative in Raleigh. In 2020, WCWCP commits to the following work: deepen the project’s engagement with the community, particularly the neighborhoods of Biltmore Hills and Rochester Heights; assist in implementing the Bailey Drive Gateway Project that was selected by the community; and build partnerships and capacity for long term management, engagement, and community-led stewardship.

Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy Governance Economic Data Assessment

PI: Peterson, Nils
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Amount Awarded: $15,599

Abstract: We propose a data gap analysis focused on data needed to determine the value of wildlife management areas (e.g., game lands, wildlife refuges) in SEAFWA states and territories (hereafter study area). This analysis will provide critical baseline information for future efforts of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) to assess the value of wildlife management areas.

Strengthening Local Food Systems Through Children: The Role of Agritourism in Agricultural Literacy and Purchasing Behaviors of Local Foods

PI: Barbieri, Carla E
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) – National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Amount Awarded: $499,536

Abstract: This integrated (research, education, outreach) project will measure the educational and market impacts of agritourism among middle school students under three scenarios: unstructured (family recreational visits), semi-structured (school-based farm visits), and structured (farm visits in support of agricultural curricula) conditions. Specifically, it will investigate the impact of farm visits on children’s agricultural literacy and how that knowledge is transferred to their parents as purchasing intention of local agricultural products. Identifying the most high-impact forms of agritourism in terms of educational and market value will help to forge stronger connections between citizens and their local food producers, which in turn will contribute to the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of local agricultural systems (AFRI’s overall goal) and strengthen rural communities’ economies (AFRI’s Priority 6). Through partnerships with agritourism farmers and elementary teachers across North Carolina this project will use experimental and quasi-experimental approaches to test changes in agricultural literacy (children) and locally-based purchasing behaviors (parents) via pre and post-tests surveys. Project results will help to: Determine which forms of agritourism are most suitable to increase agricultural literacy and stimulate the purchase of local agricultural products (Research); develop a measurement instrument for agricultural literacy (Research); train agritourism farmers so they can modify their programming offerings (e.g., tour content, farm signage) to increase agricultural literacy and locally-based purchasing behaviors (Extension); and enhance agricultural curricula content to strengthen students’ connection to local agricultural systems (Education).

Christmas Tree Field Research

PI: Owen, Jeffrey H.
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Christmas Tree Association
Amount Awarded: $5,000

Abstract: The purpose of this project is to extend and complete current areas of Christmas tree research to address growers’ needs for treatment recommendations and optimum practice and to provide new and innovative information at NCCTA meetings and farm tours as well as county extension Christmas tree programs. Christmas tree field research has identified optimum cultural practices, led to cost savings for growers, and provided the foundation of extension recommendations to growers. Often, a small amount of additional funding could supply enough momentum to bring closure to a research topic. Current NCCTA projects in the areas of cone control, suppression of glyphosate resistant weeds, and postharvest quality are in later stages of research but still have additional questions to address. Container Fraser fir studies need additional funds to follow treatments to the field. These funds will be used to implement field research as needed across these different areas. This research will be presented at state and county Christmas tree meetings and farm tours.

Characterization of Residual Xylan in Dissolving Pulps

PI: Park, Sunkyu
Direct Sponsor Name: Eastman Chemical Company
Amount Awarded: $580,869

Abstract: The differences in compositional and molecular weight of insoluble gel particles during the acetylation of cellulose have a negative impact on the downstream manufacturing process and final product quality. It is generally agreed that the residual hemicelluloses present in dissolving pulp play a role in the formation of these insoluble gel particles. However, a detailed understanding of the effects of hemicellulose composition, branching, and molecular weight on the presence of insoluble gel particles has not been clearly elucidated. To address this issue, it is important to understand the relationship between the composition of insoluble gel particles and their solubility in a common solvent such as acetone.

Development of a capacitive deionization module via tailored clean carbon materials and its optimal analysis (2nd year)

PI: Park, Sunkyu
Direct Sponsor Name: Siontech co., Ltd.
Amount Awarded: $95,075

Abstract: Development of graphite foil for water membrane application. Biomass will be graphitized, exploited, and then pressed into a foil structure. Key properties will be tensile strength, electric resistance, and thickness.

Towards Genomic Breeding in Forest Trees

PI: Isik, Fikret
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) – National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Amount Awarded: $370,000

Abstract: Timber is one of the most economically important crops in the US in farm gate value, ranking only behind corn. The goal of the project is to bring genomics to forest tree breeding to sustainably increase timber, fiber, and biofuel feedstock production. Publicly funded research projects have produced vast genomic resources for loblolly pine. We aim to discover informative SNPs from sequence databases using bioinformatics and organize in a publicaly accessible database. Leveraging the pine SNP database, we will establish PineSNPchip consortium to bring the tree breeding/forest genetics community together to design SNP arrays (see 20 letters of support). The consortium will then negotiate with genotyping centers to genotype large volumes of samples (>12K) in order to lower genotyping costs. The Cooperative Tree Improvement Program at NC State University has developed a loblolly pine population for implementation of genomic selection since 2006. Cooperative funds will be used to genotype ~6000 trees using PinSNPchip. The predicted ability of markers for growth and disease resistance will be estimated using Bayesian statistical models. Two workshops will be developed to train professionals with skills sets to use genomic tools in tree breeding. The workshops will be open to all plant/animal breeders. If successful, genomic selection will be a paradigm shift in pine breeding. We expect the research results will have a broader impact. Pine genome is large (~24Gb) and complex. The methods develop in this project could be extended to crops and horticultural species with complex genomes.

Recycled Textiles to Bio-based Building Blocks: Technology and Business Development toward Pilot Demonstration in Year 2021.

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Cotton, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $100,193

Abstract: We are continuing our efforts to develop both fundamental and applied research to understand the effect of physico-chemical deconstruction treatments on recycled textiles to facilitate enzymatic digestibility and optimize the production of bio-based building blocks to manufacture value-added chemicals. In the second phase of this project, our goal is to perform a pilot trial demonstration in addition to study the issues of using more complex textiles (e.g., polyester-cotton blends). Furthermore, we will execute a thorough review on glucose-derived chemicals to identify one or two high-value/low-volume bio-chemicals and produce those from cotton-based sugars.

Assessing Public Perceptions of Gene Drives for Invasive Species and Pest Control

PI: Brown, Zachary Steven
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) – National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Amount Awarded: $100,000

Abstract: Rationale: Gene drive research has advanced at a startling rate within only the past five years, most recently with the advent of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system for gene-editing. Important agricultural pests and disease vectors for which gene drive systems are currently being considered include spotted winged drosophila, diamondback moth, the Asian citrus psyllid, and Anopheles and Aedes mosquito vectors of dengue, Zika and malaria. However, both the effectiveness and the potential for unintended consequences of these technologies remain uncertain. Because existing biotechnology regulation may not apply to these technologies and in light of intransigencies that have developed in public debates about first-generation genetically modified (GM) crops, researchers, policy makers and regulators have turned more attention to gene drives, with a number of recent papers and conferences discussing regulatory approaches and potential applications. We have essentially no information on how the general public understands gene drives and how favorably they will view resulting products. Given the incipience of these technologies, public perceptions may play a role at all levels, including the allocation of public funds to different R&D domains, as well as consumer concerns about potential human health and environmental consequences. Because of their imminent deployment in U.S. agriculture, obtaining data on public perceptions is imperative, especially for agricultural producers who will soon need to make decisions about whether to deploy these technologies. Overall Goal: The project goal is to characterize current public perceptions of gene drive R&D and deployment in agriculture and other domains, and how these perceptions vary with different regulatory models. Specific Objectives: 1. Conduct qualitative in-depth focus group discussions with consumers and agricultural producers about their understanding and views on using gene drives in agricultural settings. 2. Design and administer a web-based survey using a high-quality probability sample of the U.S. general public about their understanding and perceptions of gene drive technologies and their potential deployment in agriculture. 3. In the survey, conduct stated preference economic valuation experiments to quantify subjective values of gene drive applications in different domains in U.S. agriculture. Approach: Objective 1 will be accomplished by organizing meetings with consumers and agricultural producers at NCSU and UW-Madison. Objective 2 will use standard survey design methods and subcontracting with a survey-research firm that has high-quality web-based probability samples. Objective 3 will utilize discrete choice econometric methods, and will be conducted as part of our standard academic activities, likely starting as a chapter in a PhD student dissertation, then becoming conference papers and eventually journal submissions. Potential Impact & Expected Outcomes: This project will produce new knowledge regarding public perceptions of gene drives at a crucial time in the deployment of this new technology. This knowledge will contribute to developing public policy and regulation of gene drives consistent with public support and thus help realize their benefits for US agriculture.

Mutated-Modeling and Understanding Using Temporal Analysis of Transient Earth Data

PI: Gray, Joshua Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: Accenture
Amount Awarded: $35,788

Abstract: We propose to build a system producing near-realtime SMART datacubes for broad area search to identify candidate areas of change. The system can, then, isolate these areas of interest and create an enhanced SMART datacube around them maximizing spatial resolution and temporal completeness as needed. This architecture can be used for forensic analysis and change monitoring of current events with the possibility to tip-and-cue complementary future imagery products (e.g. through new tasking) to build such enhanced SMART datacube in operational settings. From this proposed research we envision an outcome that shall consist of a product that analyzes and screens over a broad area and is used to task and/or collect as much high resolution commercial imagery available or complementary imagery to do change detection, attribution and characterization (DAC) that can generate alerts for current events, as well as produce comprehensive forensic reports from completed activities or events. The broad area search will identify hotspots and will provide context on what data sources should be used to build the enhanced SMART datacube. We will conduct research to determine the optimal configuration of both near-realtime and enhanced SMART datacubes (e.g. optimal GSD for near-realtime and enhanced cubes, data sources to satisfy temporal requirements, number of spectral bands needed to detect change in large areas, etc.). Our data fusion framework shall support fusion of very diverse data sources (e.g. WorldView-1,2,3, Sentinel-2, Landsat, and other commercial providers) to conduct these experiments, as well as supporting consumption of new tasking.

INFEWS: U.S.-China: Food-energy-water Feedback Mechanism, Integrated Modeling And Coordinated Management: A Comparative Study Of The China Jing-jin-ji Region And U.S. Central Valley, Ca

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Amount Awarded: $500,000

Abstract: There is an emerging need to further refine and apply food-energy-water (FEW) nexus modeling techniques that integrate agricultural land use, hydrologic systems, and energy systems to evaluate the long-term implications of emerging policy priorities such as renewable energy development (that can be land resource intensive) and groundwater conservation initiatives (that can limit agricultural production opportunities). This research will use modeling techniques that integrate agricultural land use, energy generation, and hydrologic systems to project future FEW nexus relationships with focused case study applications in the Central Valley, California (United States), and Jing-Jin-Ji region (China). A harmonized scenario analysis approach will be developed to evaluate potential synergies and trade-offs of infrastructure development and policy priorities. Results from policy simulations will be used to inform an analysis of potential solutions to address future resource limitations, and spatial-temporal implications of increased resource competition on agricultural landscapes. In the U.S. case study region, modeling efforts will contribute to emerging policy dialog by offering a more detailed depiction of land use systems in the Central Valley, including an explicit representation of the economic opportunity costs of agricultural land displacement under new policies (e.g., California’s Zero Carbon Policy and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act) and a spatially disaggregated perspective on renewable energy siting considerations. Additional simulation analysis will test alternative solutions to nexus challenges in each region, including groundwater storage set-asides, new water trading schemes to assess whether these solutions are resilient to future socioeconomic, policy, and environmental conditions

Energy, Biomass and Carbon Project, SOFAC Core research project

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)
Amount Awarded: $1,173,692

Abstract: The Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC) will develop forest sector market models for application to forest resource assessments in the South, U.S., and the World. SOFAC will integrate currently available forest resource data from the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and economic theory to model timber supply and demand in the South by local area. SOFAC economic models will allow use of exogenous or endogenous inputs about supply, demand, land use change, and landowner behavior in the analysis of timber and forest land markets and management. SOFAC modelers and members will be able to use the SOFAC suite of models and research to simultaneously project timber inventory, supply, and prices for a variety of regions and a variety of timber products across the South, the U.S., and the World. SOFAC will foster discussion among modelers and members about the appropriate inputs and assumptions in forest projection models and employ these in building timber supply models and timber supply scenarios that represent likely conditions. SOFAC will continue cooperative university-industry-public agency cooperation in southern and national forest sector economic modeling. SOFAC will enhance graduate instruction in forest economics and modeling in the South.

Stochastic Wood Procurement, Timber Harvest Scheduling, and Timber Supply Modeling

PI: Cubbage, Frederick W.
Direct Sponsor Name: International Paper Co.
Amount Awarded: $40,140

Abstract: In order to address the critical problems in wood procurement modeling for pulp and paper mills or major solid wood mills, the proposed Pilot project will develop a Decision Support System (DSS), called Stochastic Timber Supply Model (STSM), that integrates a Harvesting Schedule Model (HSM) for wood procurement with a Timber Supply Model (TSM). The purpose of this model would be to provide integrated, endogenous wood fiber supply analyses through harvest scheduling linked to timber supply and landowner characteristics. The STSM will incorporate landowner decisions in its response to market price changes, and provide explicit means to assess the variability of the input in the outcomes of TSMs. First, we will build a new DSS which users can add their forest asset data and analyze the interaction between individual supply and market variables with an option of a stochastic component. This will include market data for an individual mill or wood basket, then scaled up to a region. Second, we will investigate how minor changes in the NC State University SubRegional Timber Supply (SRTS) model inputs and assumptions can lead to different outcomes.

Can Strategic Riparian Buffers Improve Coastal Resilience to Changing Conditions in the Cape Fear River Watershed?

PI: Martin, Katherine Lee
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Sea Grant Program
Amount Awarded: $92,784

Abstract: Riparian buffers have been used to protect water quality from human land uses for decades, and their impacts at local and stream reach segments are well established. What is not well understood is the scale and placement of riparian buffers required to improve water quality across regional scale watersheds, thus protecting coastal ecosystem health from upstream development and agricultural land uses, particularly in the context of changing land use and climate. The outcome goals of the Healthy Coastal Ecosystems focal area of North Carolina Sea Grant Strategic Plan emphasize the critical need for wholistic, watershed approaches that include upstream-downstream connectivity and the impacts of changing climate and land use on watershed health. Our project goal is to apply a human-natural systems watershed approach address critical gaps in scientific understanding that forward the outcomes of the Healthy Coastal Ecosystems Focal area 1. Identify the role that upstream land use change plays on downstream (coastal) water quality in the context of changing climate 2. Examine the role that riparian buffer protection policy might play in mitigating the impacts of climate and land use change on downstream, coastal water quality. We will test a central hypothesis that strategic buffers, those placed on local watersheds with the greatest extents of either developed or row crop agriculture with provide significant improvements to whole watershed health (stream flow flashiness, sediment and nutrients) as measured across sub-watersheds and at the coastal watershed outlet. We will compare the watershed health benefits of strategic buffers only in the Piedmont, urbanizing region of the Cape Fear River basin to the placement of buffers throughout the entire basin. We will analyze the effectiveness of strategic buffers to business as usual (no mandated buffers) as well as complete buffers (all streams). To ensure results of our project reach stakeholders, we will form a Stakeholder Advisory Board that will provide regular assessments of project success.

Strengthening Community Networks for Environmental Learning and Resilience Through Children

PI: Stevenson, Kathryn
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Sea Grant Program
Amount Awarded: $119,998

Abstract: Developing solutions to large-scale, collective coastal challenges requires environmentally literate communities. In order to achieve this, we need to further conceptualize and design associated measurements of environmental literacy (EL) that focus on communities rather than individuals. The questions become not how individuals understand and interact with the world around them, but how communities share information, understandings, and associated action plans. To date, few, if any, have developed definitions or associated metrics to assess or benchmark progress toward community-level EL. Further, child-based environmental education (EE) is a promising, but understudied, strategy to build community-level EL. Children have been shown to foster EL among adults, particularly among those who may be most resistant to engaging with environmental topics. Given that school-based EE can reach a large proportion of adults in communities through their children and that children can effectively engage adults in environmental issues, school-based EE may be an effective strategy to build shared understandings, motivations and action strategies (i.e., community-level EL). Accordingly, this project will work toward two objectives. We will first conduct an online DELPHI study, a structured communication technique, to develop definitions and measurements of community-level EL. Next, we will train 30 middle and high school teachers in a citizen-science and school-based EE program around water quality that is specifically designed to build community-level EL through intergenerational learning. We will test how this curriculum boosts both individual and community-level EL among students, teachers, parents, and community members across the state of North Carolina.

Loblolly Pine Biomass and Economic Analysis

PI: Cook, Rachel
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Amount Awarded: $35,842

Abstract: Loblolly pine can provide an excellent source of bioenergy in the Southeast. Optimizing the production of bioenergy can be accomplished through management practices such as stand density, silviculture, and appropriate genetics, however long-term trials are necessary to evaluate interactions among treatments and timing of peak biomass accumulation. Additionally, economical analysis is required to determine which combination of treatments optimizes not just the biological production of biomass but also results in the best return on investment. The correct combination of treatments will vary by site depending what resources are limiting, the cost of seedling genetics, and the number of trees planted per acre. We will evaluate the effects of silviculture, genetics (clones, controlled pollinated, and open pollinated families), and stand density on the production of biomass for bioenergy on two typical sites, one on a poorly drained site in the coastal plain and one on a well drained site in the Piedmont. Long-term and continued biomass harvesting of these treatments will help determine the optimal rotation length given different treatment scenarios. Economical analysis of each combination of treatments will provide landowners with information necessary to determine which scenario works best given local costs and market conditions.

Pilot Study – Using Fine Scale GPS Technology to Research Sympatric Canid Population Dynamics

PI: Pacifici, Jamian
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Amount Awarded: $28,550

Abstract: In conjunction with prior research, data collected in this study will contribute to knowledge on sympatric canid population dynamics on the AP. Estimating population size will allow managers to monitor population trends of sympatric canids and to examine the long and short-term impacts of different management strategies on their populations. While it is unknown whether sample size will allow for population estimation, obtaining relative abundance estimates for coyotes would provide wildlife managers with baseline data for monitoring changes in population abundance over time when paired with annual mortality estimates. Information on changes in abundance, reproductive dynamics, and habitat use could impact management strategies to influence long-term conservation outcomes. Results of this pilot study will allow managers to determine if future work will be necessary, what amount of effort will be required to achieve each objective, and if population estimates will be an attainable goal. Furthermore, data gathered on survival rates by age class, breeding success, litter size, mortality rates by age class, and relative abundance of sympatric canids during this project could contribute toward a two-species population viability analysis (PVA) model in development by USFWS staff, expanding upon the PVA previously performed for red wolf populations (Faust et al. 2016).

Investigating the Impact of Environmental Greenspace Exposure on Telomere Length

PI: Hipp, James A.
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Center for Human Health and the Environment
Amount Awarded: $36,546

Abstract: Our proposed project will seek to explore the relationship between greenspace exposure and telomere length in a large sample from the United States. This result can provide evidence for a biological pathway that greenspace exposure influences human health. The project will also examine the spatial scale of the exposure relationship to determine the feasibility of Zip codes as an analysis unit versus census geographies and residential location. If Zip codes provide sufficient results, this spatial information would provide a means of data collection in future studies that protects participant privacy. The proposed project will expand CHHE collaborations with new connections between Drs. Hipp and Reif. Importantly, pilot funding will also provide Dr. Ogletree, postdoctoral scholar in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management and the Center for Geospatial Analytics, with valuable experience to establish himself in the field of environmental health research and with NHANES data, expanding the potential for a K award.

Foliar Fungal Endophytes for Enhanced Sustainability and Resilience of Corn, Hemp, Soybean, Switchgrass, and Wheat

PI: Hawkes, Christine
Direct Sponsor Name: Game-Changing Research Incentive Program for Plant Sciences (GRIP4PSI)
Amount Awarded: $225,061

Abstract: We propose to harness plant fungal symbionts towards improving crop resistance to drought and disease. Fungi that live inside plant leaves are found in all plants and are known to moderate plant physiology and to antagonize pathogens, but to translate these into useful tools requires understanding the underlying drivers of how they do so. We will (1) determine the scale at which fungi can be manipulated across the landscape from host to site to region, (2) identify highly beneficial fungi and the genes associated with those benefits, then test the function of those genes, (3) develop the spectroscopic methods needed to detect leaf-associated fungi in the field, and (4) explore the potential policy implications and stakeholder responses to fungal manipulations on crops. By taking a full-system approach that targets multiple aspects of the biology of fungal leaf symbionts, we will hasten their translation into practical agronomic tools.

Evaluating the Promise and Potential Impacts of R3 Efforts Targeting College Students

PI: Larson, Lincoln Ray
Direct Sponsor Name: US Fish & Wildlife Service
Amount Awarded: $107,621

Abstract: Declining hunting participation negatively impacts state and federal agencies’ ability to achieve wildlife management objectives and generate revenue for conservation activities. The decline is driven, in large part, by decreasing numbers of young adult hunters. Our study will focus on one particularly promising audience – college students in an attempt to reverse these declines. We will addressing NCN #9 by identifying opportunities for recruiting new hunters as well as retaining or reactivating individuals with previous hunting experience. To accomplish this, we will work with multiple state agencies and public universities in two-phased project. First, we will survey diverse undergraduate students at participating universities to assess their hunting-related perceptions and behaviors and highlight potential R3 programming and outreach opportunities targeting specific subgroups. Second, we will utilize this information to develop, implement, and evaluate R3 workshops for college students without (or with very little) previous hunting experience. Our goal is to reveal best practices for cultivating and sustaining positive perceptions of and participation in hunting across different geographical and cultural contexts. Results shared via a Practitioner’s Guide (with suggested R3 Program Outline), academic publications/presentation, and workshops will help agency professionals, educators, and researchers understand and connect with young adult audiences.

Applications of Nanocellulose in Waterborne Coatings Systems

PI: Khan, Saad A.
Direct Sponsor Name: Eastman Chemical Company
Amount Awarded: $548,641

Abstract: We will use unmodified and chemically modified nanocellulose materials to develop rheology, dewatering and film formation routes that will lead to films and coatings with target physical appearance, mechanical integrity and thermo-chemical and wetting properties. For this purpose we will use precursors from three different nanocelluloses: cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) and lignocellulose nanofibrils (LCNF). Results from this study will be used to develop novel coatings and films, as well novel personal care products.

Bio-based Barrier Layer for Multilayer Packaging

PI: Lavoine, Nathalie Marie
Direct Sponsor Name: Pepsico, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $28,778

Abstract: This research collaboration aims to develop a bio-based moisture barrier layer for multilayer packaging. More especially, two bio-sourced components of hydrophobic characteristic and chemical compatibility will be combined as a coating formulation for metal-based and polyester-based substrates. The barrier properties of this layer will be fully characterized. The NCSU team will elaborate the formulation and test it on model substrates; some provided by the sensor Pepsico. Pepsico will test the formulation in their facility and schedule pilot-scale trials to test the lab-made formulation under required conditions.

NC Wood Products Extension – Urban Wood Drying Curriculum

PI: Laleicke, Paul Frederik
Direct Sponsor Name: Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo (EcoSlo)
Amount Awarded: $65,000

Abstract: The U.S. Forest Service estimates that over 130 million acres of forests are located in U.S cities and towns. From a wood products industry perspective, urban woods only play a minor role and the available resource is not recognized by its optimal ecologic and economic value. The most common end-of-life solutions for urban trees are mulching and in many cases landfilling. However, in recent years, the use of urban wood for furniture and interior design have increased, mostly by efforts of local companies. The popularity of urban wood products is a result of highly variable wood characteristics and a high degree in custom fabrication. However, both aspects create challenges along the chains of processing and production. The goal of this project is to create more capability and confidence in urban wood utilization among companies and consumers. The project aims at achieving the highest and best use for each tree with benefits to local communities. NC Wood Products Extension, with a long history of industry education and support, proposes the development of educational modules as part of an outreach initiative with a special focus on drying. Outreach includes on-site workshops, online videos, and experimental kits to educate about moisture-related properties of urban woods.

Catalytic Upgrading of Carbohydrates in Waste Streams to Hydrocarbons

PI: Park, Sunkyu
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Energy (DOE) – Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)
Amount Awarded: $1,250,807

Abstract: The objective of this project is to demonstrate catalytic processes for upgrading carbohydrates to hydrocarbon biofuels using two low-cost wet organic waste streams: Papermaking sludge and Post-sorted municipal solid waste. The work is based on the previous success of hydrocarbon production from corn stover in a bench scale via dilute-acid and enzymatic deconstruction followed by dehydration to furans, condensation, and hydrodeoxygenation to hydrocarbons. The project team will develop (1) a sugar production process and a removal strategy of non-carbohydrates that could poison catalysts during the conversion process, (2) isomerization and dehydration processes necessary to convert both glucose and xylose to furans in a single reactor, (3) an upgrading process of furans via aldol condensation with ketone and hydrodeoxygenation to diesel range hydrocarbons, and (4) a detailed techno-economic analysis to integrate and optimize the overall process. The developed process in this project will be demonstrated in a relevant pilot-scale and life cycle assessment will be evaluated.

CNH2-l: The Coupled, Co-Evolving Roles of Drought and Electricity Systems in Humans’ Exposure to Air Pollution

PI: Kern, Jordan
Direct Sponsor Name: UNC – UNC Chapel Hill
Amount Awarded: $112,322

Abstract: This project will develop an improved understanding of the coupled dynamics among the natural processes that underpin drought and poor air quality, the human systems that manage water resources and electricity supply, and localized human exposure to fine particulate matter and ozone pollution, all under the influence of two anthropogenic drivers: technology adoption and climate change.

Coordination of the SENTINEL Partnership (North Carolina Military Affairs Commission 2018-19 NCSU Project)

PI: Bardon, Robert E.
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Amount Awarded: $120,000

Abstract: The U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, and the Interior formalized the NC Sentinel Landscape Partnership (here-after Partnership) to better serve where working and natural lands converge with national defense facilities. Decidedly, the Partnership can leverage collective resources and expertise to accomplish shared on-the-ground goals where priorities overlap. To accelerate progress meeting technical and process goals, and increase the capacity and legacy of the NC Sentinel Landscape Partnership (NC SLP), NC State University is requesting $40,000 to assist in continued coordination of major Partnership goals that will link military readiness, conservation, and working lands. The Partnership is expanding outreach, opportunities, and recognition to landowners in 33 counties, including the addition of a landowner advisory committee; is working to reduce land-use conflicts and natural resource issues around military installations through its High Priority Program; and accelerating the conservation and protection of natural resources and restoration of important habitat for wildlife.

Watershed Response To Land Use And Climate Change In Central North Carolina

PI: Martin, Katherine Lee
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $44,980

Abstract: This agreement establishes a collaborative research effort with NC State University, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. The objectives described below will provide policy relevant scientific research on the current and changing conditions of waters resources in in the North Carolina Piedmont, a region of rapid human population growth and development.

The Multiverse of Biomass: From Nature to Innovation & Entrepreneurship

PI: Lavoine, Nathalie Marie
Direct Sponsor Name: VentureWell (formerly know as National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance)
Amount Awarded: $27,222

Abstract: Abstract: With the inevitable coming of the Green Economy, biomass valorization, use of renewable and bio-based materials and development of high-performance, recyclable, biodegradable and biocompatible products are nowadays challenges and opportunities to welcome a more sustainable society. Yet, to hasten its arrival, we must answer the daunting question of how we transform these challenges to opportunities? By educating new generations of students to the multiplicity of opportunities or multiverse of biomass, from a scientific and engineering perspective to an entrepreneurial vision. The Department of Forest Biomaterials has decades of expertise in conversion and valorization of biomass into new fuels/energies and high-performance biomaterials that offer solutions to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental and aquatic pollution and waste accumulation.We propose to leverage our graduate curriculum by adding an entrepreneurial and business competency to its strong scientific and engineering core. Our envisioned integrated program aims at educating Master and PhD students from NC State University, and others (via an online version) by training them in the principles, practices and methodologies of biomass valorization, conversion, and usage.

Comparative Assessment of Global Wood Fiber Production Prospects

PI: Cubbage, Frederick W.
Direct Sponsor Name: Mississippi State University
Amount Awarded: $20,678

Abstract: This research and development project will perform a strategic analysis of wood fiber production opportunities for these two most promising wood fiber supply regions, and drilling down on the merits of a few countries that show the most promise for expansion of wood fiber production and investments in the near future. The overall objective for this research is to perform an analysis of global timber and wood fiber production opportunities for selected regions and countries in the world, focusing on newly developing timber regions and specific countries that are likely to have the most opportunity for expansion of wood fiber production. We will focus on (1) current fiber production and trends, (2) international trade, production and consumption trends of wood products (3) fiber production costs and technology (4) land availability and costs, and (5) institutional and infrastructure factors.

Modeling Forest Resource Dynamics in Support of National Resource Assessments: Phase XII

PI: Abt, Robert C.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $135,000

Abstract: This research extends the modeling systems developed through a series Joint Venture Agreements between the Forest Economics and Policy Research Work Unit and the North Carolina State University. The previous projects focused on developing modeling approaches for forecasting forest inventory plot conditions in response to various vectors of change including climate change, timber management, forest aging, forest disturbances, and land use changes for RPA and Futures Project Assessments. These projects successfully developed modeling frameworks for three major regions of the United States: South, North and West and analyzed a broad suite of forest forecasts under various assumptions regarding future scenarios for a variety of exogenous variables and writing reports on the relative impacts of these various factors. The current research focuses on enhancing the modeling systems and further analysis of key natural resource issues and forecasts of forest conditions in the United States.

Butanol & Nanocellulose from CRISPR-Edited Poplar

PI: Sagues, William Joseph
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Amount Awarded: $100,000

Abstract: We propose an innovative bioprocess that will produce high value cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and butanol fuel from sustainable biomass feedstocks. Specifically, we will assess two biomass feedstocks: 1) poplar-derived market pulp and 2) CRISPR edited whole poplar biomass, as shown in Figure 1. Tailored hemicellulase and cellulase enzymes will be provided by Novozymes to selectively hydrolyze the hemicellulose and amorphous cellulose to generate free sugars and cellulose nanocrystals. The free sugars, both 5- and 6-carbon, will be fermented to butanol fuel via Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum. After fermentation, butanol will serve two beneficial purposes for downstream separation operations: 1) butanol will act as a dispersant inhibiting hydrogen bonding and reducing nanocellulose agglomeration and 2) butanol will partially solubilize lignin thereby enhancing liquid/solid separation.

Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention – PILOTS

PI: Den Hartog, Emiel A
Direct Sponsor Name: University of Kentucky Research Foundation
Amount Awarded: $12,000

Abstract: Agricultural workers and foresters have direct interactions with severe climates and pests due to labor work outdoors that usually leads to a greater risk of receiving arthropod bites, and increased exposure to solar radiation and pesticide than the general population. Current chemical treatments (primarily permethrin/DEET) to prevent exposure to vector-borne diseases may have adverse effects on agricultural and forest worker’s health. There is an urgent need to develop an alternative protective system, which is effective in preventing arthropod bites, and to reduce the exposure of solar radiation and the threat of residual pesticide. In previous research, a mathematical model (NCSU model) was developed for predicting the bite-resistant capacity of the barrier materials by considering the combination of thickness and pore diameter. Based on the model validation, we can produce prototype textile products which have been stringently tested in NC State’s labs and proven better than 95% effective under extreme worst-case scenario mosquito exposure. Furthermore, 3-D spacer fabric technology offers a means by which the porosity and thickness can be tuned by changing manufacturing parameters with a goal of producing barrier structure to arthropods, solar radiation, and pesticides. The proposed research focuses on the selection of materials, production parameters and performance evaluations for bite-resistant structures. Up to ten commercially available 3-D spacer fabrics will be investigated and narrowed down to up to five candidates that will meet design criteria aimed at improving performance of fabrics for use in protective garments. NCSU has developed a radar chart with maxima and minima design ranges constructed from bioassay results, durability tests and comfort evaluations for prediction of the overall performance of textile structures. The radar chart will be used to select candidate textile structures. These textiles will be characterized in thermal comfort property tests and insect bioassays as a demonstration of the potential for the technology.

Populus-based Production of Solid Biofuels

PI: Saloni, Daniel
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Amount Awarded: $133,190

Abstract: World energy demand has been continuously increasing, with no indication of slowing down in the coming years. There exists an imperative need for cleaner, sustainable, renewable energy sources that can be locally produced. Biomass is identified as a sustainable long-term plan to reduce the dependency on imported energy and as a national security strategy, and wood pellet is identified as an important biomass product with growing demand and an established expert market mainly in Europe. Many bioenergy-focused field studies conducted by NC State University have shown the efficacy of Populus as short rotation woody crops (SRWC) when clones are matched to site conditions. The objectives of this project are to develop a novel preprocessing during pellet production, assess its effects on the technical feasibility of wood pellet production, and evaluate potential of utilizing Populus clones that are suitable and highly productive in NC for producing the next generation of solid fuels. The expected outcomes include validity of the modified production method to improve the quality of wood pellets and identification of poplar clones for producing high-quality and durable pellets.

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program 2019 (Student Dalton George)

PI: Delborne, Jason Aaron
Direct Sponsor Name: University of Georgia
Amount Awarded: $8,984

Abstract: Successful insecticide (IRM) and herbicide (HRM) resistance management (RM) in agriculture is contingent on the aggregation of insect and weed best management practices (BMPs) on the farm-scale to the landscape level. Endeavors such as this require significant coordination and collaboration across diverse sectoral boundaries in agricultural production, which invoke social, economic, and political forces to structure the incentives, norms, and rules regarding RM. Currently, these structures are largely designed to serve diverse farm-scale management practices, not landscape level. Therefore, research is needed to investigate alternative solutions that re-organize these structures towards the success of implementing landscape level BMPs. One pathway to alternative solutions is through cooperative management strategies, where multi-stakeholder collaborations within an agricultural production system work together to devise best management practices, and share costs, benefits, and knowledge across diverse institutional boundaries. Critical to the organization of these systems are social conditions like trust, reciprocity, and social capital that mediate the social ties that promote exchanges of information, knowledge, and resources related to IRM and HRM. To study these conditions, I endeavor to pursue an exploratory, mixed-methods network study of Eastern North Carolina Blacklands agriculture. Using both qualitative interviews and social network analysis methods, I can uncover how social conditions structure and influence information and knowledge exchanges, and how they may be leveraged to enhance coordination and collaboration, and potentially lay some groundwork for the development of future cooperative management programs.

An Assessment of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Criteria and Indicators: Enhancing Information for Criterion 7; Legal, Institutional, and Economic Indicators

PI: Cubbage, Frederick W.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $67,000

Abstract: This research will continue to perform U.S. assessments of the Montreal Process for Sustainable Forest Management Criteria and Indicators (SFM C&I) for Criterion 7, the development of the legal, institutional, and economic framework for forest conservation and sustainable management. This supplement will focus on: ‘Examining Partnerships and Participation in Collaborative Forest Management Approaches in the United States.’ We will review the administrative and forest-specific policies and laws that prescribe or promote participatory and/or collaborative measures on forest management across public and private lands, including recent additions, shifts, or changes in policy, law, and related programs. Research and compare the range of collaborations and partnerships on forest management across public, private, and civil society sectors. Specific aspects examined and compared across approaches will include levels of financial, technical, and human resources; public participation; political commitment; and public support. How decision-making processes and authority vary across different partnerships and other collaborative arrangements also will be examined and reported.

Collaborative Research: Establishing Norms of Data Ethics in Citizen Science

PI: Cooper, Caren Beth
Direct Sponsor Name: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Amount Awarded: $400,000

Abstract: Citizen science refers to a broad spectrum of ways in which scientists and members of the public collaborate in scientific discovery, and scientists and practitioners engaged in the use of citizen science isa rapidly growing part of the scientific community. However, because citizen science can be initiated and funded outside of traditional institutions and conventional regulatory oversight mechanisms, and creates new circumstances overlooked by regulatory oversight, the field has an ethics gap. The gap presents an opportunity to create and disseminate new frameworks, building an ethical culture at the outset of an emerging field to proactively address issues as they emerge. We focus on the common denominator to nearly all citizen science projects: volunteer data collection and use. We propose to survey current and ideal practices and the use of human-centered design to create ethical culture in collaboration with the Citizen Science Association (CSA) with the goals of: (1) Identifying and guiding responsible research by practitioners in the emerging field of citizen science, and (2) building CSA’s capacity to establish and maintain ethical norms in a burgeoning field.

Translating Forest Measurements to the Little Screen

PI: Rathbun, Leah Christine
Direct Sponsor Name: Society of American Foresters
Amount Awarded: $1,300

Abstract: Over the last year university classrooms have made a shift from in person to online teaching. This has been especially challenging for disciplines that normally use a hands-on approach to teaching, such as forestry. Those teaching forest measurements and biometrics courses, which communicate methods for measuring and sampling information, have a unique challenge as much of the equipment used is new and less intuitive to the student (e.g. clinometer). Good quality videos which clearly and accurately demonstrate how to use these types of equipment as well as communicate the geometry/math used are difficult to create. This project seeks to work with academic forestry schools to create a repository of videos which can be used for instruction in classrooms or workshops, as resources for forest landowners, for those studying for their SAF certified forester exam, and anyone who has an interest in forest measurements and/or biometrics. All videos will have the SAF logo in the bottom right corner of the video. The repository of videos will be housed on an official SAF YouTube account with public access. In addition, opportunities for developing a series of TikTok videos will be explored. All videos will be developed with the intent to ensure a diverse cast.

SOFAC Administrative Account

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)
Amount Awarded: $151,512

Informing a Risk Assessment Research Strategy for Gene Drive Agricultural Applications through Interdisciplinary Dialogue and Exchange

PI: Kuiken, Todd
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) – National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Amount Awarded: $25,000

Abstract: Technological advancements involving gene drive applications in agriculture are proceeding rapidly (e.g., use of Drosophila suzukii or Diaphorina citri that feed on soft-skinned and citrus fruits). At the same time, there are gaps in governance systems and challenges to acquiring underlying data for risk assessments. It is also important to couple risk assessments with studies on public perceptions and acceptance, heeding past lessons learned from ag-biotechnology (1), and enhance risk assessments through informed interdisciplinary engagement (2)(3)(4)(5). Interdisciplinary exchanges may also help ensure that responsible research and innovation is realized in the case of gene drive applications in agriculture. In essence, diverse and multi-stakeholder conversations should be conducted alongside research endeavors aimed to conduct risk assessments for gene drives. This conference proposal aims to inform risk assessment research strategies for gene drive agricultural applications through interdisciplinary dialogue and exchange with diverse experts.

DOE-SBIR Phase II Lightweight and Thermally Insulating Nanowood

PI: Saloni, Daniel
Direct Sponsor Name: InventWood, LLC
Amount Awarded: $40,000

Abstract: The main objective of this work is to perform a comprehensive characterization of wood materials based on standardized tests such as mechanical tests, compression under hot-press at various conditions, surface characterization and product inspection. In addition, we will perform a material preparation and conditioning prior to processing to assure consistency throughout the performance of the work. We will utilize equipment and machines listed in the facilities and other resources document.

Urban Black Bears: Diet, Movement, Reproduction and Bearwise Program Evaluation

PI: DePerno, Christopher S
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Amount Awarded: $667,748

Abstract: With the proposed implementation of the BearWise program, which is designed to educate the public and reduce anthropogenic attractants in neighborhoods, our objectives are: 1) Use a before-after-control-impact (BACI) study design to examine the impacts of implementing BearWise principals (e.g., bear-resistant trash containers, elimination of attractants such as bird feeders, and others) in participating neighborhoods on urban black bear home range size, fine-scale resource selection, diet, and reproduction in treatment (i.e., BearWise) and control neighborhoods. 2) Quantify landscape and fine-scale variables associated with foraging events and assess resource selection (Lewis et al. 2015) at treatment and control neighborhoods. 3) Perform pre and post-stable isotope analysis to assess nutritional status and identify proportional contributions of anthropogenic and natural foods to the diet of urban black bears (Dykstra 2015) captured in in treatment and control neighborhoods. 4) Conduct an evaluation of a pilot BearWise community to quantify public perceptions about bears, bear management, bear-human encounters, and to explore compliance with BearWise practices prior to, in conjunction with, and post-implementation (Johnson 2013) in treatment and control neighborhoods.

Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII)

PI: Lee, Yuan S.
Direct Sponsor Name: University of California – Los Angeles
Amount Awarded: $686,204

Abstract: CESMII, the Smart Manufacturing Institute, has developed a Smart Manufacturing Platform for setting up and operating data contextualization, visualization, analytics, model comparison, and control. The standards for this Platform are being developed with CESMII’s members across the industry. CESMII now has asked NC State to create a Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center (SMIC) to deploy, develop, and demonstrate the Smart Manufacturing Platform. Technical design of the implementation would be by a separate contract with Avid Solutions, a systems integrator in Morrisville, NC. The requested budget for Year 2020 Quarter 1 is the first step to establish NCSU as a SMIC and to connect NCSU’s strategic manufacturing testbed assets to CESMII’s SM Platform.

Urban Bear Data Analysis

PI: DePerno, Christopher S
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Amount Awarded: $100,811

Abstract: Cities now constitute one of the most rapidly growing ecosystems in the world, and with the global spotlight on increasing urbanization and development, the focus on wildlife in natural systems is sharing importance with a focus on wildlife in urban systems, providing unique research opportunities in ecology and conservation. Currently, greater than 10% of the earth’s land surface is categorized as urban cover and that area is continually growing. By 2050, 70% of the human population is expected to live in cities, which now constitute one of the newest and fastest growing ecosystems in the world. In North Carolina, black bear populations occupy nearly two-thirds of the state and their range continues to expand, including into areas with high densities of people and road networks. Humans and black bears are now living in greater proximity to each other, resulting in increased human-bear interactions and some areas of the state may have reached or exceeded the social carrying capacity. Continued investigations into the fine-scale spatial and behavioral ecology of black bears in urban environments is warranted. For example, the identification of characteristics associated with bear-vehicle mortality along major interstates will help identify habitat characteristics associated with collision, and thus may aid in reducing collisions with vehicles. Additionally, in source-sink dynamics, wildlife populations that have access to high quality habitat typically have birth rates that are greater than death rates and surplus individuals disperse from the population as emigrants. In contrast, sink populations have low habitat quality, or suitability, and thus experience death rates that exceed birth rates and the population could decline towards extinction (i.e., a sink), unless rescued by immigration from surrounding source populations. We will evaluate family group dynamics and estimate population growth rates and population dynamics. Clearly, these objectives have direct and indirect consequences for humans and bears in our rapidly changing urban environments.

Southeast Center for Agriculture Health and Injury Prevention – PILOTS (formerly: Does Wood Pellet Heat Reduce Ammonia Exposures to Farmworkers in Poultry Houses?)

PI: Bryant, Jennifer Richmond
Direct Sponsor Name: University of Kentucky Research Foundation
Amount Awarded: $12,000

Abstract: The poultry industry has an economic impact of over $37 billion for the state of North Carolina, creating 146,125 jobs in the state as of 2017. However, ammonia exposure from chicken waste creates a respiratory hazard to those poultry farm workers. Recent efforts by NC State Extension and farm operations partners for sustainable improvements to poultry production have involved adoption of wood pellets to fuel furnaces in hen houses. This dry heat has been shown to improve broiler chicken survival, growth, and quality. Contemporaneously, farm operators and workers have shared anecdotes of reduced odors in hen houses using dry wood pellet heat. We hypothesize that lower humidity in wood pellet-heated hen houses results in less production of ammonium aerosols and hence in lower exposures for poultry farm workers. Initial screening by Carolina Land & Lakes Resource Conservation and Development supports this hypothesis, but more work is needed to demonstrate that the dry heat produced by wood pellet combustion, compared with more humid air found during propane combustion, leads to lower ammonium exposures. We propose to compare ammonia concentrations in sets of hen houses from different poultry farms in Western North Carolina that use wood pellet or propane heat but are otherwise identical. A combination of continuous and integrated ammonia detectors will be used for this pilot study. Anticipated follow-up work includes sampling a greater suite of air pollutants, capturing greater spatial and temporal resolution within the hen houses, and including both personal and area samplers of particulate matter, ammonia, and carbon dioxide in the hen houses.

LSU Superfund Research Center – Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals

PI: Bryant, Jennifer Richmond
Direct Sponsor Name: Louisiana State University
Amount Awarded: $60,528

Abstract: Data indicate a disproportionate COVID-19 impact on Black residents of Louisiana. As of April 26, 2020, the United States (U.S.) has more confirmed coronavirus cases per capita than any other country, and Louisiana has the third highest rates of COVID-19 cases and the second highest deaths per capita in the country. Of 1,644 reported Louisiana deaths to date, 56% are of Black race. Louisiana’s industrial corridor (IC), an area along the Mississippi River densely populated with petrochemical factories, is home to 44% of Black residents and 30% of residents living below the poverty line in the state. The IC is responsible for 64% of statewide TRI emissions for 2018. The IC includes the parishes of West and East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Ascension, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, Jefferson, Orleans, and Plaquemines. Together, these parishes comprise 67% of Louisiana’s COVID-19 cases and 68% of Louisiana’s COVID-19 deaths. Our hypothesis is that elevated COVID-19 death rates among Black IC residents is associated with long-term exposure to HAPs emissions and distrust in the information about the disease received from government and media sources. Our study of racial disparities in COVID-19 mortality risk will use a mixed methods approach integrating epidemiologic and ethnographic analysis to determine impacts of HAPs exposure on COVID-19 outcomes: 1) We will examine the associations between COVID-19 case and death rates with industrial emissions of HAPs by race and concentrated disadvantage; 2) We will explore the experiences of IC residents to understand how long-standing HAPs exposures and concentrated disadvantage may undermine public trust to influence COVID-19 outcomes. Insights from this study will be synthesized into policy recommendations designed to understand special health risks stemming from long-term HAPs exposure and promote trust in information distributed by credible sources among IC residents during subsequent waves of COVID-19. All findings will be communicated to the public, with special attention to residents of the IC, and we will share our protocols with state health and environmental officials to improve health assessments for IC residents.

Municipal Wastewater Application to Forests: Participatory Science to Understand Human Exposure and Risks to Contaminants of Concern.

PI: Nichols, Elizabeth Guthrie
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) – National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Amount Awarded: $484,990

Abstract: Proposed work will engage eastern North Carolina governance and stakeholders to understand community perceptions and values of human health exposure and risks to alternative uses of primary-treated municipal wastewater for agricultural purposes. Collaboration with local governance will establish a participatory leadership group (PLG) to develop with NC State and US EPA researchers an evaluation of contaminants of concern for a 6,000 acre municipal wastewater land application site system (LAS). Researchers and the PLG will also establish a community involvement group (CIG) to better understand community values and perceptions of wastewater re-use in order to better translate and communicate science to stakeholders and the public. Characterization will include wastewater, surface waters, groundwaters, and soil water analyses for potential contaminants of concern and hydrological assessment of wastewater residence time in targeted catchments and sub-watersheds within and surrounding the LAS. Activities will include water quality data integration from stakeholders in the PLG and workshops with the CIG on community perceptions and values.

Advancing the National Bioeconomy through Regional Sun Grant Centers

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: University of Tennessee
Amount Awarded: $68,446

Abstract: The hygiene tissue industry (bath tissue and kitchen towel) is an annual 39 million tons – USD 100 billion – global market with a forecast to grow ~ 3% per year for the next decade [38], [39]. Most hygiene tissue paper grades require the use of both long and short virgin fibers, which provide strength and softness respectively [8]. As an effect of global megatrends, the demand for non-woody biomass for tissue manufacturing will continue to increase [40], and agricultural biomass, which is perceived to be a sustainable option, can be an important source of short fibers for the tissue industry [41]. Therefore, the need to research and create knowledge on the handling and conversion of biomass sorghum and switchgrass to produce sustainable and high-end fiber furnish for the hygiene tissue industry. The proposed feedstock can be established to supply fiber at industrial scale.

Equipping Cooperative Extension Professionals to Better Meet Community Wildland Fire Needs

PI: Fawcett, Jennifer L
Direct Sponsor Name: University of Florida
Amount Awarded: $24,436

Abstract: The Southeast leads the nation in applying prescribed fire to millions of acres each year, much of which is on private lands. The Southeast also has the most land area in the Wildland Urban Interface, putting numerous communities at risk from wildfire. Prescribed fire helps lower the risk of catastrophic wildfires and promotes ecosystem services in fire-dependent landscapes. However, climate change, growing populations, and development are increasingly complicating the use of prescribed fire to accomplish these objectives. Surveys of Extension professionals indicate wildland fire information is a pressing need. Given these circumstances, Extension professionals must be prepared to serve constituents’ needs related to wildland fire. This can be challenging, particularly when Extension professionals’ primary responsibilities and expertise lie elsewhere. Moreover, Extension professionals’ needs relative to wildland fire can vary greatly according to the objectives and needs of constituents. This project will equip Southern Extension professionals to understand and serve constituents’ needs related to wildland fire and connect them to local professionals that can offer more expertise. An online course will be developed, that will address needs identified in a previously conducted needs assessment and based on the expertise of the authors. In addition, training programs will be held in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, at a minimum, to facilitate networking between Extension professionals and local wildland fire experts and reinforce concepts related to wildland fire, and Extension professionals will be enabled to assist with the creation of community-based Prescribed Burn Associations. Since the need for Extension to address wildland fire issues spans the nation, this project will be replicable in other states and regions.

Advancing the National Bioeconomy through Regional Sun Grant Centers

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: University of Tennessee
Amount Awarded: $14,142

Advancing the Capacity of the North Carolina Sentinel Landscape Partnership

PI: Bardon, Robert E.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Endowment for Forestry & Communities, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $150,000

Abstract: The NCSLP is in its 13th year of operation, formally since 2016 and prior to 2016 as core group of the Partnership that began to amplify its vision, mission, and implement signature projects that the NCSLP has uniquely done. This proposal is requesting financial support to bolster the NCSLP’s continued efforts that are focused on the ENCSL. The NCSLP is working to protect the military mission in North Carolina, its forested and agriculture working lands, and its natural and water resources by minimizing the impact of encroachment and incompatible land uses that effect both the military and surrounding communities. By fully implementing the Sentinel Landscape program in North Carolina the NCSLP will achieve multiple benefits that allow North Carolina to be more effective.

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Rayonier Operating Company, LLC formerly Rayonier
Amount Awarded: $150,000

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Timberland Investment Resources, LLC
Amount Awarded: $75,000

Sensor Integrated Platform for Monitoring Phytophthora Diseases FY21

PI: Ristaino, Jean B.
Direct Sponsor Name: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) – USDA
Amount Awarded: $301,048

Abstract: Improvements in field-based pathogen diagnostics are needed since plant disease outbreaks exact a heavy toll on agriculture. Use of new innovations in science and technology including field-compatible molecular assays such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and volatile-based sensors may speed identification of plant pathogens in fields and allow growers to respond more rapidly with appropriate fungicide treatments and for regulatory agencies to mitigate new outbreaks. In this project, we will develop in-field volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors and microneedle patch-supported LAMP sensors that can differentiate several important Phytophthora species of regulatory concern including P. infestans, P. ramorum and P. kernoviae. Phytophthora infestans infects potato and tomato, while P. ramorum and P. kernoviae cause disease on nursery plants such as rhododendron, lilac and kalmia and important forestry tree species including oak and beech among others. P. kernoviae has not yet been found in the US. We will develop species- specific LAMP and VOC sensors and deploy these sensors for use with inexpensive cartridges that are read from a smartphone. The sequence data collected from the LAMP sensor platforms and previously published sequence databases will be uploaded to create an open buildable phylogeny of emerging Phytophthoras. Pathogen occurrence data collected will be linked with a near real-time web-based GIS platform and a weather-based susceptible infected (SI) host spatial-temporal POPs (Pest and Pathogen Spread) model to develop predictive maps of pathogen risk. The system will improve the response time of USDA APHIS PPQ and National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN personnel to respond to emerging threat pathogens and improve economic return of growers as they use the digital diagnostic tools to prevent the spread of important Phytophthora diseases.

Forecasting Forest Vegetation in Isle Royale National Park – CESU

PI: Scheller, Robert
Direct Sponsor Name: US Geological Survey (USGS)
Amount Awarded: $50,674

Abstract: Isle Royale is internationally recognized for its populations of wolves and moose. Despite wolf predation on the moose population, both the short and longer-term impacts of moose browsing can be seen across the island. In response to a decade-long decline in the wolf population of Isle Royale National Park, ultimately resulting in just two wolves remaining, the National Park Service (NPS) began reintroducing wolves to the island over the past winter. It is not, however, possible to disentangle all of the factors that might influence patterns of vegetation change over large landscapes with traditional experimental approaches or by conducting observational studies on their own. We will combine landscape-scale simulation models and data from experiments and observational studies to foster a more integrated understanding of vegetation, herbivore, carnivore dynamics. By using a simulation model to evaluate hypothetical scenarios, we will isolate the possible effects of one or more factors while holding others constant. Climate change will also interact with wolf predation and moose browsing to alter the future forests of Isle Royale and will be considered in our forecasting.

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Forest Economic Advisors (FEA)
Amount Awarded: $25,500

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Larson & McGowin, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $37,500

Improved Observation Of Belowground Carbon Cycling And Net Ecosystem Exchange In Natural And Managed Forested Wetlands In The U.S. Southeast

PI: King, John S
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) – National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Amount Awarded: $925,097

Abstract: The world currently loses thousands of hectares of low-lying coastal wetlands every year, attributed mainly to a recent acceleration of sea-level rise (SLR). Loss of coastal wetlands threatens critical services these ecosystems provide. Coastal states and counties need to start planning and implementing adaptation and mitigation strategies now in order to decrease future costs of adjusting to climate change and SLR, and to protect vulnerable stocks of sequestered carbon (C) and limit methane (CH4) emissions. Unfortunately, precise information on how natural and managed coastal ecosystems will change in the coming decades is lacking, and monitoring of such sites is very low. Enhanced observation platforms and predictive models and scaling tools are critically needed. The objectives of the proposed project are threefold: 1) leverage previous Federal investments to sustain eddy covariance flux-tower based long-term climate change observatory experiments in southern forested wetlands; 2) perform a detailed study at the wetlands to determine mechanisms controlling belowground C cycling, particularly the interaction of CO2 and CH4 production with environmental driving variables; and 3) utilize the data to improve parameterization of state-of-the-art ecosystem/hydrologic models specific to forested wetlands and their linkage to larger scale models such as the Community Land Model (CLM). Our working hypothesis is that as the hydrology is forced towards wetter conditions (poorer drainage) due to SLR, emissions of CH4 will increase relative to CO2, increasing the greenhouse forcing of the system. In addition, we expect to see greater dissolved C fluxes. The project will be conducted in collaboration with the USFWS at a natural forested wetland at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Dare County, NC, and in collaboration with Weyerhaeuser NR Company in industrially managed pine plantations. The proposed project will implement detailed soil C cycling studies that account for variation in micro-topography and fluctuations in water table depth, which our previous work has shown to have strong influence on the partitioning of soil C efflux as CO2 and CH4, and also dissolved forms (dissolved organic carbon DOC). We will perform laboratory and field incubations of isotopically labeled wood from the Aspen and Duke FACE Projects to trace the flow of C into soil CO2/CH4 efflux, DOC, and labile and recalcitrant soil organic C (SOC) fractions. The spatially explicit ground-based sampling of C fluxes will be related to ecosystem-level with the eddy covariance tower, and used to parameterize coupled process-based ecosystem-hydrologic models (MIKE SHE-DNDC). Model parameterizations will be validated and linked to regional scale modeling of CLM. The proposed project will elucidate belowground soil C cycling mechanisms that control emission of CO2 and CH4 as affected by global climate change and sea level rise.

LSU Superfund Research Center – Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals

PI: Bryant, Jennifer Richmond
Direct Sponsor Name: Louisiana State University
Amount Awarded: $311,000

Abstract: This study addresses questions related to human exposure to environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs), a recently discovered class of pollutant species found at Superfund sites and formed during certain thermal treatment processes. It is unclear how long EPFRs persist when compared with other components of particulate matter (PM), and this research will provide information about the extent and duration of exposures nearby thermal treatment processes. This research will also provide information about exposure to EPFRs in homes and how concentrations of EPFRs correlate with noise and other co-stressors.

Biodegradable Microencapsulation Project

PI: Lavoine, Nathalie Marie
Direct Sponsor Name: Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC
Amount Awarded: $264,753

Abstract: The objective of the project is to design a sufficiently stable microcapsule system with encapsulated agrochemical active ingredient, using cellulose-based chemistries as the principal barrier materials, with a biodegradation profile that satisfies the criteria in the ECHA ANNEX XV Proposal for a Restriction on Microplastics.

Uniform-Format Herbaceous Biomass Feedstock: Value-added Miscanthus

PI: Jones, Daniela Sofia
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Amount Awarded: $99,000

Abstract: Need for a uniform format for herbaceous feedstock – Briquettes and pellets are a great alternative as they provide compacted storage with a longer shelf live paving the way for lower transportation cost and year-round feedstock availability – NC already has X commercial pelletizing facilities that could be leveraged as feeding pipelines to a larger national industry of value-added herbaceous biomass.

Forest Health Monitoring, Assessment, and Analysis

PI: Conkling, Barbara L.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $338,410

Abstract: The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program is a long term, national monitoring and research effort focusing on forest ecosystems. This interagency program is designed to assist resource managers and policy makers in managing forest resources in the United States, allocating funds for research and development, and evaluating the effectiveness of environmental policies. FHM national reporting efforts include an annual technical report that presents analysis and synthesis of technical information at national and multi-state levels as well as other publications that provide information about national forest health conditions and management priorities. Through the work in this agreement, the principal investigators and other research personnel will provide the Forest Health Monitoring Research Team of the USFS Southern Research Station’s Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center (EFETAC) with data analyses, natural resource assessments, and technical writing skills in support of the national Forest Health Monitoring Program’s annual forest health status and trends report, and other research, analysis, and reporting tasks. The principal investigators and other personnel will also provide support to the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program in documentation development and updates for field procedures and the FIA public database.

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Resource Management Service (RMS), LLC
Amount Awarded: $150,000

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Resolute Forest Products
Amount Awarded: $150,000

Probing the Fundamental Parameters in Cellulose Crystal Self-Assembly leading to Structural Chromism

PI: Lucia, Lucian
Direct Sponsor Name: Pepsico, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $94,240

Abstract: In year 1 of our project, we will explore the nature of cholesteric phases incellulose crystal tactoids by controlling a series of ambient parameters to allow us to probe how the chiral nematic pitch changes over time, as a function of aspect ratio relative to Debye-Huckel lengths (ionic strength modulation), and DNA templating.

Visualizing Forest Futures Under Climate Uncertainty: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Into Decision Support Tools For Collaborative Decision Making

PI: Scheller, Robert
Direct Sponsor Name: Pennsylvania State University
Amount Awarded: $68,669

Abstract: Scope of Work NC State University Robert Scheller, Professor at North Carolina State University will be responsible for providing oversight of the LANDIS-II modeling component. In addition, Dr. Scheller will conduct model optimization as needed, particularly for the new forest succession (NECN-H) extension and interfacing LANDIS-II with the visualization tool. He will facilitate running the model simulations on high-speed servers. He will also assist with stakeholder workshop preparation and facilitation. Finally, he will assist in the preparation of all related manuscripts.

Unearthing interacting nontuberculous mycobacterial, environmental, and host determinants of lung Disease in the Hawaiian Islands

PI: Pacifici, Jamian
Direct Sponsor Name: National Jewish Health
Amount Awarded: $156,570

Abstract: The main objectives of this proposal are to fill current gaps in knowledge of nontuberculous mycobacteria ecology and disease transmission using the Hawaiian Islands as a model to understand the critical factors that influence how NTM inhabiting water and soil environments become infectious agents responsible for a recalcitrant lung disease. The specific aims of this proposal are to 1) conduct island-wide environmental sampling and use genomic profiling, soil and water analyses, and climate data to survey the environmental and epidemiological factors associated with the frequency and diversity of NTM in Hawai’i; 2) conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of matched Hawaiian environmental and clinical NTM isolates to identify species of NTM and to link environmental influences and patient behavior with prevalence of NTM infection; and 3) build a predictive model of NTM transmission to understand disease dynamics in the Hawaiian Islands. This model may then be used to study these bacteria and associated lung disease with results that are likely generalizable to other areas of the world.

Investigating Lagoon Sludge Management and Drying Impacts and Opportunities

PI: Sharara, Mahmoud
Direct Sponsor Name: Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $27,071

Abstract: Swine lagoon sludge is a nutrient-rich resource that requires frequent removal and sustainable use to minimize any adverse environmental impacts. This works scope will investigate two key work scopes: (1) impact of lagoon sludge level on irrigation frequency and nutrient composition of lagoon supernatant, and (2) compare technical and economic performance of industrial drying systems that can be adopted in NC to dry lagoon sludge.

Multi-scale Assessment of the Drivers of Neuse River Waterdog (Necturus lewisi) Distribution and Recruitment

PI: Pacifici, Jamian
Direct Sponsor Name: US Geological Survey (USGS)
Amount Awarded: $103,774

Abstract: The Neuse River Waterdog (Necturus lewisi) is an endemic salamander found only in the Neuse and Tar River basins in Eastern North Carolina. Recent survey efforts suggest the species may be declining range-wide with more exaggerated losses in the Neuse River basin. Although previous studies have provided valuable information about the potential influence of both environmental and anthropogenic stressors, they have done so in a limited window of time resulting in a snapshot of conditions indexed at 3 specific time points (early 1980’s, early 2010’s, and 2018-2020) over the last 40 years. These findings have spurred important hypotheses about the relative impact of changes in land use and land cover, but does not allow for an explicit quantification of how those changes in the environment are driving changes in the distribution and productivity of waterdogs. These preliminary results highlight two important gaps in our knowledge. 1) The need to understand important drivers of change at two relevant spatial scales (micro- and meso-scale), and 2) the need to conduct longer term studies to ensure sufficient data to fully evaluate these effects and how they influence changes in population dynamics of waterdogs. Given these needs we propose to build on our prior research by extending sampling for multiple years necessary to meet the following primary objectives: 1) determine the distribution of N. lewisi and how it is changing over space and time as a result of both micro and meso-scale stressors, 2) evaluate micro-and meso-scale drivers of recruitment using multiple sampling techniques, and 3) evaluate future scenarios of LULC and the related persistence of N. lewisi in order to develop a framework for identifying and prioritizing management strategies for species recovery. The study design and associated methods of sampling will also allow us to explore the following secondary objectives: 1) evaluate how much sampling effort is necessary to detect waterdogs at sites across the landscape (i.e. power analysis based on occupancy and detection rates estimated from this study) and 2) assess individual variation in relation to localized site characteristics using additional information collected on individuals (e.g., body condition, morphological measurements, photo ids, tissue samples).

Location Aware Approach to Creating Effective Public Outreach

PI: Pala, Okan
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Transportation
Amount Awarded: $229,360

Abstract: NCDOT enhances its ability to establish relationships, credibility and consensus throughout the course of the transportation decision-making process by using a variety of methods to engage the public. Organizing and implementing public hearings, while effective, falls short on involving all stakeholder groups who would be affected by the implemented project. The way that the public is engaged, informs and invites the section of public that lives nearby and would have the most perceived short and medium term adverse effects from the project implementation. Whereas the section of public using the project corridor to transit and would have the most perceived medium and long term benefit, is not effectively engaged. We propose to value-add existing public outreach strategies by augmenting them with spatial analysis tools, state of the art targeted information dissemination techniques, and a user friendly spatial public engagement portal. Innovative approaches need to be developed and implemented to engage all affected and benefiting sections of public during all phases of project development and delivery. Initiating this process before the early project planning stage would allow appropriate project alterations without adding extraneous financial burdens and project delays. The first aim of this project is to create task specific spatial analysis tools that will allow NCDOT staff identify adversely affected, as well as benefiting, stakeholders. Using this information, this project also aims to create effective public outreach campaigns using a Spatial Public Engagement Portal (SPEP), and social media pipelines while putting our best effort forward to respect stakeholder’s privacy. We will then collaborate with NCDOT staff to transfer our knowledge, findings, and spatial analysis tools as well as the SPEP platform.

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Full Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Georgia Pacific Consumer Operations LLC
Amount Awarded: $60,000

Abstract: The purpose of the Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI) is to develop fundamental and applied research on the use of alternative and sustainable fibers for the manufacturing of market pulp, hygiene products and nonwovens. The idea for SAFI has grown out of societal needs for alternative yet sustainable materials. SAFI will study the potential of alternative fibers based on technical (performance), sustainable and economic principles.

Bioreactive Distillation for Converting Transgenic Poplar into Industrial Chemicals by Extremely Thermophilic Caldicellulosiruptor

PI: Kelly, Robert M.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)
Amount Awarded: $499,989

Abstract: To realize the potential for producing fuels and chemicals from renewable resources in sustainable ways, bioprocess engineering strategies are needed that optimally integrate genetically modified feedstocks and metabolically engineered microorganisms. Extremely thermophilic bacteria from the genus Caldicellulosiruptor not only natively deconstruct lignocellulose to fermentable sugars but also can be engineered to subsequently produce industrial chemicals. By operating at high temperatures characteristic of extreme thermophiles, contamination risk can be virtually eliminated, thereby allowing bioreactor operation to align with well-established chemical processesing technology rather than require approaches akin to pharmaceutical manufacturing. Furthermore, by strategically choosing target chemicals, separation of product from fermentation broths can exploit product volatility at elevated temperatures ( bioreactive distillation ), thereby significantly reducing energy costs associated with recovering dilute products from large aqueous streams. This project has the following objectives: 1) Using a novel, high temperature bioreactor configuration, characterize deconstruction and conversion of wild-type and transgenic poplar lines to fermentation products at high feedstock loadings by wild-type Caldicellulosiruptor bescii; 2) Improve existing transgenic poplar lines to minimize recalcitrance and maximize deconstruction and conversion of lignocellulose to fermentation products by wild-type C. bescii; 3) Metabolically engineer C. bescii to produce acetone from cellobiose, and then optimize conversion efficiencies and rates at bioreactor scale using a novel process intensification schemes ( bioreactive distillation ); 4) Using optimized transgenic poplar and metabolically engineered C. bescii, produce acetone from lignocellulose at bioreactor scale, and determine the impact of feedstock loading and processing conditions on conversion efficiency, yields, volumetric productivity, and product recovery.

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Education Program in Renewable Polymers from Forest Resources to Replace Plastics

PI: Park, Sunkyu
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)
Amount Awarded: $238,500

Abstract: Interdisciplinary Doctoral Education Program will be created to focus on Renewable Polymer production using Forest Resources to Replace Plastics. PDs from three colleges will work together to train three Ph.D. students.

Utilizing the Sub Regional Timber Supply Model (SRTS) to Address Hardwood Utilization and Management Options

PI: Abt, Robert C.
Direct Sponsor Name: Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF)
Amount Awarded: $60,000

Abstract: As demands on our forests increase it is important to have tools available that can help us plan for the sustainable management of the resource. This is especially true with Southern hardwood forests that vary in species and quality, and can take decades to grow compared to softwood. The Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC) develops forest sector market models for application to forest resource assessments with the main model being the Sub- Regional Timber Supply (SRTS) model. This model has been widely used in the South and other forested regions to see how various forest conditions affect future forest resources. The core information for this model is USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and Timber Products Output (TPO) data. Although this model has been widely used and accepted it’s analysis is mostly limited to generic hardwood and softwood groups and pulpwood and sawtimber size timber in the South. To address future resource concerns with the diverse hardwood forests species we need the ability to do more species specific and quality analyses across the hardwood regions. The goal of this project is to update the STRS model so that species specific, multi-regional scenarios can be developed to model future forest resources. This will be accomplished the following objectives. 1) Working with partners update the current SRTS model to be able to incorporate individual species and attributes across regions, including user guide. 2) Utilize new model to run pilot hardwood scenario(s) and analysis, and create document. 3) Provide hands-on training of new model 4) Through SOFAC provide support to model users and needed updates

Integrated Multisector, Multiscale Modeling (IM3) Science Focus Area, Phase 2

PI: Kern, Jordan
Direct Sponsor Name: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Amount Awarded: $85,000

Abstract: The overarching goal of the proposed research tasks for the NCSU team in Phase 2 of IM3 is to help develop new, open source operational models of the U.S. bulk electric power system, one for each of the three regional interconnections: the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC); the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT); and the Eastern Interconnection (EIC). These models will then be used by NCSU and other members of the IM3 team to address the impacts of weather and water dynamics in the simulation of grid operations in Experiment Groups B and D as described in the IM3 Phase 2 proposal

High-performance Biodegradable Transparent Films: The First Step towards Green Aseptic Food Packaging, CAPPS Core project

PI: Lavoine, Nathalie Marie
Direct Sponsor Name: Ohio State University
Amount Awarded: $59,970

Abstract: Here, we propose a new sustainable packaging solution as a recyclable alternative to plastic substrates that exploits and combines the intrinsic properties of renewable materials for the development of barrier and transparent plastic-like films. We will focus in particular on two types of cheap, abundant, and renewable materials: (i) bacterial cellulose, synthesized by bacteria or algae, which can be easily grown and bioengineered, and (ii) alginate, a polymer extracted from brown algae; both of which are GRAS approved substances. This project will study the effect of weight ratios, salt addition, pH, and possible need of green plasticizers (e.g., glycerol) on the properties of the composite films under varying conditions by mimicking refrigerator, ambient, and microwave conditions, with a direct comparison to commercial plastic food films. The potential release of any of the used polymeric materials and plasticizers to solid and liquid food will be investigated. As a first step towards the design of green aseptic packaging substrates, the film stability against different aseptic technologies (e.g., U.V. radiation, hydrogen peroxide and hot air) will be studied. To this end, a third low-cost, renewable GRAS protein, namely (iii) zein, will also be considered in the last part of this project as a possible way to make up for any lack in the performance of the bacterial cellulose/alginate films with respect to water resistance, thermal stability, and heat-sealing properties

Fiber Modification to Improve Tissue Sheet Properties

PI: Pal, Lokendra
Direct Sponsor Name: Kemira Chemicals
Amount Awarded: $220,000

Abstract: There is an immediate and pressing need for low-cost sustainable tissue and hygienic products for a variety of commercial applications. The next phase plans include studies leading to the generation of unbleached tissue and towel with different hardwood fiber types, various treatment chemistries, creping, and assessment of the pathways for delivery of low cost-sustainable products.

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Full Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Golden Gate Paper Company
Amount Awarded: $60,000

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Full Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Suzano Pulp and Paper America
Amount Awarded: $60,000

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Associate Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Red Leaf Pulp
Amount Awarded: $20,000

SNAP-Ed Steps to Health FY21

PI: Maslow, Lindsey
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS)
Amount Awarded: $2,817,300

Abstract: The purpose of the SNAP-Education grant is to deliver nutrition and physical activity education to limited resource audience at the individual level and provide multi-level strategies/interventions to promote policy, systems, and environmental change across North Carolina, with 100 counties potentially receiving high levels of intervention.

Tribal Resilience Project in partnership with the NC Commission on Indian Affairs

PI: Emanuel, Ryan E
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
Amount Awarded: $13,873

Abstract: Jocelyn Painter, Research Assistant (between March 2020 and September 2020). The graduate research assistant will complete a literature review and analysis of tribal engagement methods utilized in climate resilience and adaptation processes and Attachment 2 DEQ Task Order 8200 consider resilience planning processes utilized with communities in Virginia in North Carolina. â€¢ The graduate research assistant will develop research questions, research other funding opportunities to continue Phases III-V, and draft grant proposals to continue the project. â€¢ The graduate research assistant will participate in project partner calls and steering committee meetings. â€¢ The graduate research assistant will participate in events including the NC Unity Conference and others as described in the project proposal and recommended by the steering committee.

Environment for Development Initiative 2021-2024

PI: Sills, Erin O.
Direct Sponsor Name: Environment for Development School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg
Amount Awarded: $335,997

Abstract: Environment for Development is committed to increasing attention to gender in the environmental agenda, particularly at the interface with economic development. Under the umbrella of the WinEED collaborative, they are taking a three-pronged approach: (1) building the pipeline and supporting the success of women environmental economists in the Global South, (2) building capacity and increasing attention to gender analysis in environment and development economics including in EfD centers and their home institutions, and (3) drawing attention to gender issues in intergovernmental deliberations and the environmental agenda of UN agencies, including through dissemination of EfD research. All three prongs require support from an environmental economist with insight and training in gender analysis and familiarity with the structural barriers and opportunities for women economists in the Global South. This project will fund a post-doctoral scholar at NC State to provide this support, in collaboration with EfD and with their affiliates in UN agencies and civil society organizations.

Preparing Diverse and Rural Students and Teachers to Meet the Challenges in the Bioproducts and Bioenergy Industry

PI: Venditti, Richard A.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA)
Amount Awarded: $2,750,000

Abstract: The project will prepare a diverse group of college students and high school teachers with the knowledge and interdisciplinary tools necessary to advance the future of America s bioenergy, bioproducts, and the bioeconomy. Distance courses will be developed and taught by faculty in the Departments of Forest Biomaterials & Environmental Resources, with guidance from the College of Education, undergraduate students are recruited from historically underserved institutions (HBCU, women s college, community college), as are teachers from rural, high poverty NC high schools. Undergraduates will complete three of the five online courses in bioenergy & bioproducts, and complete an industry internship, and earn a certificate. Bioproducts and bioenergy industrial and research organization partners provide hands-on internship projects in the industry or in a research setting. Rural high school science teachers will complete three of the five online courses, earn a certificate, participate in professional development workshops, carry out lessons with their students during the school year, and conduct a career fair in bioproducts and bioenergy.

Controls on Dead Wood Turnover in Temperate Forests: Clarifying the Links Between Decomposer Diversity and Ecosystem Function

PI: Forrester, Jodi A.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA)
Amount Awarded: $498,995

Abstract: The response of forest ecosystem carbon dynamics to disturbance is difficult to predict because it requires long term experiments on complex interactions among changing production, decomposition,microclimate, and nutrient regimes. Accomplishing this is critically important to predict and manage forests under future uncertainty, maintaining carbon management and sustainably meeting societal needs. To achieve this we are proposing to continue and expand process-based measurements of our long-term experimental manipulation of canopy openings and woody debris to evaluate the effects of disturbance on forest carbon pool dynamics and net ecosystem productivity. We are uniquely poised to address this question using our replicated, large-scale, field experiment established a decade ago in a sugar maple dominated northern hardwood forest in northern Wisconsin. The long-term goal of the on-going project is to quantify the effects of forest structure on carbon cycling and biodiversity and apply these first principles to ecosystem restoration, carbon management and sustainable forest management of northern hardwoods in the Great Lakes region. We propose to: 1) re-measure vegetation and soil carbon pools at three different time periods in the next decade to quantify the continued effects of the experimental treatments; 2) refine measurements of soil respiration to better estimate heterotrophic sources; 3) quantify decomposition dynamics 15 and 20 years following treatment; and 4) use the data from this process-based study in a simulation model to examine the effects of forest structural heterogeneity on landscape carbon dynamics

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Full Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Kimberly Clark Corporation
Amount Awarded: $60,000

Health Matters: Improving Physical Activity Among African-American and Low-Income Residents of Edgecombe County

PI: Hardison-Moody, Anne Margaret
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS)
Amount Awarded: $153,000

Abstract: To increase physical activity among African Americans and low-income residents in Edgecombe County, NC State and Edgecombe County Cooperative Extension will 1) increase the number and promotion of shared use policies in community organizations, 2) connect and promote vital physical activity resources through wayfinding and signage, 3) improve connectivity between places people live, learn, work, play and pray through walking and recreation space audits, 4) support and promote walking and biking to and during school, and 5) partner with Recreation Resources Service (RRS), to create and implement a county park and recreation master plan.

NCDOT Community Studies Geospatial Sandbox

PI: Pala, Okan
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Transportation
Amount Awarded: $389,408

Abstract: NCSU CGA will provide a â€œsandboxâ€ environment for the NCDOT Community Studies Group members and others approved individuals or groups. This environment will also serve as the secure staging area for the data to be readied, vetted and approved before it is shared. As a part of this agreement NCSU CGA will perform quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) for data that is hosted. NCSU CGA will also maintain and update metadata within the NCDOT Community Studies sandbox and relay approved datasets to the ATLAS project team to ensure accuracy of the information and avoid versioning pitfalls. Metadata will include all the necessary information including, but not limited to: contact information, geospatial extent of the data, sources used to develop the data, cartographic projection details as well as data use and sharing limitations set by NCDOT and external data procurement services. In addition, NCSU CGA will develop training materials and provide training to designated NCDOT personnel, including designated contract personnel, in order to further the use of geospatial technologies, datasets and spatial thinking.

Impact of Youth Corps Partnerships on Partner Capacity

PI: Edwards, Michael B.
Direct Sponsor Name: Montana Conservation Corps
Amount Awarded: $251,376

Abstract: Working in a partnership model, conservation corps provide land management agencies with resources that support youth development and community engagement [Engagement], a dependable workforce that balances high quality work with reduced agency costs [Efficiencies], and ensure the enhanced ability of public land agencies to sustainably provide for conservation and visitor recreation [Enhancement]. Relevant to the evaluation, the primary long-term impact associated with these program activities ensures resource institutions, managers, and industries have the long-term capacity to sustainably manage natural resource assets. Conservation corps work with public land agency partners at multiple levels. However, most of this work occurs on federal and state lands. Two important partners for conservation corps are the USFS at the federal level and respective State Parks at the state level. This evaluation will focus on the ability of participating corps to enhance the capacity of these two organizations. The overall aim of the current evaluation is to examine the outcomes of corps program on partners. The primary outcome-related goal is to determine, through a matched, quasi-experimental design, whether there is evidence that host partners demonstrate higher levels of engagement, efficiency, and environmental stewardship than similar, non-hosting affiliates. The primary research questions of this evaluation are: Using partner interviews and surveys, this evaluation will address the following research questions: Does hosting a conservation corps program increase public land agency partners capacity to:Engage youth and communities? Manage organizational resources more efficiently? More effectively manage public lands for conservation and visitor recreation?

Assessing Climate Vulnerability in a Highly Adaptable, Wide-ranging, Harvested Species: Direct and Indirect Effects of Climate on Wild Turkeys Across the U.S.

PI: Pacifici, Jamian
Direct Sponsor Name: US Geological Survey (USGS)
Amount Awarded: $294,171

Abstract: Climate-change vulnerability assessments (CCVA) provide a framework for evaluating how a species will respond to a changing climate, which can be especially critical for hunted species because of the additional stress on population dynamics. Integrating the use of CCVAs with a process that ensures the coproduction of knowledge will yield an inclusive, iterative approach between research and management to create new information. Using our wellestablished network with managers and other stakeholders, we propose a process of coproduction to assess the climate-change vulnerability of a wide-spread and economically important game species, wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), across the southeastern U.S. where it is exhibiting long-term declines in abundance. We will use >10 years of reproduction data for wild turkeys from six states to explore the multiplicative effects of climate and hunter harvest on wild turkeys to help guide localized harvest regimes (e.g., timing of the hunting season) across the region. We will assess the relative importance of short-term weather events, longer-term weather shifts, and extreme weather events on reproductive timing and output. Combining information on the relative contributions of weather and climate with variation in reproduction due to phenological cues will allow us to make projections about the overall influence of climate on reproduction in wild turkeys. Stakeholders in the process will include agency biologists, especially members of the Southeast Wild Turkey Technical Committee, National Wild Turkey Federation staff, and the general public with an interest in wild turkey conservation and hunting opportunities.

Sensor Integrated Platform for Monitoring Phytophthora

PI: Ristaino, Jean B.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS)
Amount Awarded: $338,322

Abstract: Improvements in field-based pathogen diagnostics are needed since plant disease outbreaks exact a heavy toll on agriculture. Use of new innovations in science and technology including field-compatible molecular assays such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and volatile-based sensors may speed identification of plant pathogens in fields and allow growers to respond more rapidly with appropriate fungicide treatments and for regulatory agencies to mitigate new outbreaks. In this project, we will develop in-field volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors and microneedle patch-supported LAMP sensors that can differentiate several important Phytophthora species of regulatory concern including P. infestans, P. ramorum and P. kernoviae. Phytophthora infestans infects potato and tomato, while P. ramorum and P. kernoviae cause disease on nursery plants such as rhododendron, lilac and kalmia and important forestry tree species including oak and beech among others. P. kernoviae has not yet been found in the US. We will develop species- specific LAMP and VOC sensors and deploy these sensors for use with inexpensive cartridges that are read from a smartphone. The sequence data collected from the LAMP sensor platforms and previously published sequence databases will be uploaded to create an open buildable phylogeny of emerging Phytophthora s. Pathogen occurrence data collected will be linked with a near real-time web-based GIS platform and a weather-based susceptible infected (SI) host spatial-temporal POP s (Pest and Pathogen Spread) model to develop predictive maps of pathogen risk. The system will improve the response time of USDA APHIS PPQ and National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN personnel to respond to emerging threat pathogens and improve economic return of growers as they use the digital diagnostic tools to prevent the spread of important Phytophthora diseases.

Collaborative Proposal: Climate Driven Acidification In Lowland Neotropical Streams: Building On 25 Years Of Groundwater-surface Water Interactions

PI: Ardon Sayao, Marcelo
Direct Sponsor Name: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Amount Awarded: $232,482

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic affected our long-term project in Costa Rica. Due to travel restrictions, we have been unable to travel to Costa Rica 2020, and will likely be unable to travel this summer. These impacts have hindered the ability of Nick Marzolf, PhD student on the project to finish some of his projects, and has particularly impacted our ability to analyze and synthesize long-term datasets. These obstacles have slowed down the career progress of Nick Marzolf. While he was able to defend his dissertation successfully in May, and has already published three manuscripts during his time working on the project, postdoctoral positions for him to apply have been scarce. This supplement will allow us to get the most out of our long-term datasets by accomplishing three objectives. First, it will fund Nick Marzolf to travel to Costa Rica to bring back long-term water samples for chemical analysis to fill gaps that are limiting our analyses and interpretation of trends. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, samples are accumulating at La Selva Biological Station and have not been transported to the analytical laboratories at North Carolina State University for 1.5 years. Support for travel will also permit transportation of equipment, materials, and critical infrastructure to ensure the project continues operation. Second, postdoctoral support will allow a more comprehensive analysis of the long-term dataset across streams in La Selva. These datasets were to be included in Nick Marzolf s dissertation, but was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this support will allow for a time-series analysis of this dataset. Third, postdoctoral funding will provide time for Marzolf to conduct analysis of high-frequency data from aquatic sensors.

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: New-Indy Containerboard, LLC.
Amount Awarded: $54,000

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Forest Investment Associates (FIA)
Amount Awarded: $78,000

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: International Paper Co.
Amount Awarded: $150,000

Sustainability Packaging for the Meat & Poultry Industry

PI: Lavoine, Nathalie Marie
Direct Sponsor Name: Tipper Tie, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $5,000

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Full Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Productos Familia S.A.
Amount Awarded: $60,000

Cellulose Ester Solutions

PI: Kelley, Stephen S
Direct Sponsor Name: Eastman Chemical Company
Amount Awarded: $15,000

Abstract: The solution and solid-state behavior of CA has been extensively studied with common techniques such as light scattering and x-ray scattering. However, these tools have limitations when used for studies of 1) the behavior of CA in concentrated or turbid solutions, 2) mixtures of CA with other similar carbohydrates or soluble polymers, and 3) the solid-state behavior of CA blends. There is also interest in the behavior of CA in a dynamic environment, such as solvent evaporation as the CA transitions from a solution to a gel to a solid. Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) is one analytical tool that can overcome these limitations. The use of SANS is also attractive since CA is soluble in common deuterated solvents, e.g., acetone, DMSO, THF, acetic acid, chloroform, etc., and deuterated CA can be easily prepared using deuterated acetic acid and acetic anhydride. This proof of principle project is intended to demonstrate that SANS can be used to study CA solutions, and to lay the groundwork for more elaborate studies of the behavior of CA copolymers with other polymers in solution and the solid state. This work requires collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). We expect to use EQ-SANS diffractometer at SNS BL-6, which is designed to study non-crystalline, nano-sized materials in liquids, and should be suitable for the proposed study of CAs in deuterated solution. BIOSANS at HFIR could be an alternative beamline, though we understand that the HFIR is recovering from a prolonged downtime, which may limit availability. The high neutron flux at EQ-SANS is ideal for efficient proof-of-principle experiments.

Investigating the Impact of Environmental Greenspace Exposure on Telomere Length

PI: Hipp, James A.
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Center for Human Health and the Environment
Amount Awarded: $36,546

Community Forests as an Innovative Approach to Promoting Rural Prosperity in the United States

PI: Cubbage, Frederick W.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $175,018

Abstract: Economic pressures felt by rural communities in the United States, combined with simultaneous social and environmental threats to forests in rural areas, require innovative approaches. Many communities seek support for preserving their ways of life and connections to the resources around them as well as help in adapting to changing social and environmental circumstances. Community forests are proposed as one option for addressing these goals and issues, but require sound scientific assessment to understand how and when they lead to enhanced forest protection and improved socioeconomic opportunities in the United States. This project will generate policy and practical insights for the establishment and support of community forests as an innovative approach to maximize forest conservation and rural prosperity in the U.S. The research will examine What factors and conditions enable community forestry initiatives in the U.S. to enhance the sustainability of forests while promoting rural prosperity and well-being? â€ƒ The research objectives are: 1) Identify and inventory community forests in the United States, documenting key characteristics such as land ownership, management goals, governance structures, revenue generation, and forest type. 2) Classify community forests in the U.S. based on their characteristics. 3) Identify direct and indirect monetary and non-monetary benefits and costs of community forests. 4) Understand community forest governance and management as an innovative approach for advancing rural opportunities and pathway to prosperity. 5) Identify potential community, forest, governance, and management characteristics that may be linked to positive social, economic, and ecological outcomes from community forests. 6) Disseminate insights about community forests to community and regional organizations, policy-makers, researchers, and other key stakeholders. The methods will follow the objectives above, using stakeholder involvement, reviewing and collecting data from secondary literature and sources, and conducting mixed-methods detailed comparative case studies of a stratified sample of community forests. We will conduct in-depth, comparative case studies in the east of approximately five community forests to explore if and how they foster innovative approaches for advancing socioeconomic opportunities for rural entrepreneurs and communities in the United States and the factors and conditions that support or impede these opportunities.

Analysis and Economic Modeling and Clean Air Act Issues, Forestry, Agriculture and Landscape Change Modeling and Analysis Support

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: RTI International (aka Research Triangle Institute)
Amount Awarded: $55,241

Abstract: This proposal, in response to the RTI International RFP titled Analysis and Economic Modeling and Clean Air Act Issues, is supported by RTI International and a mission support contract from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change Division. Under this contract, Dr. Justin Baker (NCSU-CNR-FER) will collaborate with researchers at RTI and other institutions on the development and application of several land use sector modeling frameworks to develop projections of land use, markets, resource management, and greenhouse gas emissions under socioeconomic, environmental, and policy change. Dr. Baker will provide analytical and modeling support for research and development efforts, quick turnaround research for policy analysis, and technical writing and synthesis to disseminate new research. Dr. Baker s modeling contributions will focus on projecting terrestrial carbon stocks over different spatial and temporal scales and under a wide range of alternative future conditions using multi-model assessment techniques. Further, Dr. Baker will focus on policy design issues related to bioenergy expansion, international trade, and climate mitigation programs.

Planning Nature-Based Flood Mitigation Strategies Through Participatory Videos

PI: Cutts, Bethany Brooke
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Sea Grant Program
Amount Awarded: $10,000

Abstract: The rising cost of floods, in both property damage and human lives, combined with the limitations of traditional flood control infrastructure (e.g., levees, berms, and dams) has led to increased calls for nature-based flood mitigation strategies (Liao 2012, 2014; Opperman et al. 2009, 2017). While flood nature-based solutions (NBS), such as wetland conservation and restoration, offer strong social and ecological benefits, many communities continue to rely on traditional flood control infrastructure that disrupt the hydro-ecology of riverine ecosystems (Montz and Tobin 2008; Opperman et al. 2009). This gap between NBS knowledge and practice stems in part from a failure to adequately embed scientific knowledge within the cultural lifeways of impacted communities (see Gaillard and Mercer 2013). We propose a participatory framework to enhance public involvement in designing nature-based flood mitigation strategies in Robeson County, North Carolina. The coastal plains of North Carolina contain a diverse array of wetland ecosystems, including pocosins (from Algonquian meaning â€œswamp-on-a-hillâ€) and Carolina bays (Richardson and Gibbons 1993; Sharitz and Gibbons 1982). Between 1780 and 1992, North Carolina lost 53 percent of its wetlands, first primarily to agricultural drainage and more recently to urbanization (O’Driscoll 2012). In the Lumber River basin, the watershed that encompasses most of Robeson County, wetlands make up nearly 25 percent of land use, but development and agricultural ditching has degraded water quality and wildlife habitat (NCDENR 2004). Changes in state and federal policy also threaten remaining wetlands (Richardson et al. 2011; Wittenberg 2017). We hypothesize that greater public participation within NBS planning can better integrate wetland restoration and conservation within disaster recovery and mitigation processes. Our prior research in Robeson County, including 76 interviews with survivors, community leaders, and officials, reveals that residents relate to and value the local environment, particularly the Lumbee river and swamps, in diverse and complex ways. Although it was not the motivation for the initial research, these findings suggested a critical need to understand how diverse cultural identities and ways of knowing shape perceptions of NBS. Many study participants recognized the socioecological benefits that derive from the ecosystem, yet focused primarily on maintaining and improving existing flood infrastructure when discussing mitigation strategies. Local officials that we interviewed likewise made relatively few mentions of NBS projects for flood mitigation. On the contrary, some leaders have publicly expressed skepticism that large-scale wetland restoration offers a realistic long-term flooding solution (Kaplan 2018). Although most resiliency plans for the county include nature-based options (Coastal Resilience Center 2018; NC Emergency Management and NC Department of Transportation 2018; ReBuild NC 2017), overall these strategies have not been prioritized within recovery and mitigation efforts. By bringing together diverse community voices, this research will identify place-specific barriers to NBS design and implementation and facilitate conversations about how to better integrate NBS into resiliency planning.

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: American Forest & Paper Association
Amount Awarded: $75,000

Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC) Membership Pool Agreement

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)
Amount Awarded: $1

Abstract: No abstract on record.

Management Options for Herbicide Resistant Weeds in Christmas Tree Production

PI: Neal, Joseph C.
Direct Sponsor Name: Christmas Tree Promotion Board
Amount Awarded: $41,629

Abstract: Herbicide resistant weeds have become widespread and problematic in nearly all cropping systems including Christmas tree production fields. In 2018, researchers at North Carolina State University evaluated alternative treatments for glyphosate-tolerant weed species in Fraser fir production fields. Cloransulam-methyl suppressed escaped horseweed with little to no injury to Fraser fir trees. However, reliance on this one ALS-inhibitor (Group 2) herbicide has a high probability of selection for weeds with resistance to multiple modes of action. Thus, additional research is needed to identify ways to effectively use herbicides with other modes of action. Additionally, research is needed to define effective treatments for other herbicide tolerant weeds, specifically lambsquarters, pigweeds and ragweed. Experiments will be conducted to evaluate the safety of preemergence and postemergence herbicides for control of horseweed, lambsquarters, pigweed and ragweed, as well as product safety to Fraser fir trees, treated before and after bud-break. Researchers will also evaluate the impacts of experimental treatments on white clover ground cover. A living ground cover dominated by white clover has been shown to reduce erosion, suppress summer annual weeds, and to contribute organic nitrogen for enhanced tree growth. Results from these trials will be used to reduce the impact of herbicide resistant weeds in Christmas tree production and to provide guidance for product registration efforts (such as the USDA IR-4 program). Developing strategies for herbicide resistant weed control in living mulch systems will also enhance the sustainability of Christmas tree production

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Affiliate Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: University of British Columbia
Amount Awarded: $0

Railroad Tie Composting with 50 Degrees, LLC

PI: Hopkins, Christopher B
Direct Sponsor Name: 50 Degrees, LLC
Amount Awarded: $50,000

Abstract: NCSU and Blackwood Solutions believe that it may be possible to compost creosote treated wood (railroad ties) to reduce the content of the phenols and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and produce land applicable compost . We intend to cooperate on the analysis and application of NCSU designed studies of forced air composting of shredded railroad ties with animal waste. We believe that the higher temperatures afforded by supplemental air will improve creosote reduction. These studies will include several recipes of ties and animal waste with varying air supplementation. NCSU will also seek to understand the North Carolina regulatory parameters for composting and using creosote railroad ties. We anticipate 2 small scale iterations of recipes to optimize creosote reduction. We anticipate regular communication among all cooperators to help guide study design and implementation. NCSU seeks $50,000 in funding from Blackwood Solutions for this collaborative work. The team will include Site Manager Joseph Stuckey and Professor Mahmoud Sharara, and will be led by Chris Hopkins at Blackwood s request. We are anticipating a schedule of implementation covering approximately 8 months. Much of this work will be at the Animal and Poultry Waste Processing Center. See attached Gantt chart for project schedule.

Distribution and Abundance of the Neuse River Waterdog in North Carolina

PI: Pacifici, Jamian
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Amount Awarded: $115,139

Abstract: Salamanders (Amphibia: Caudata) are an extremely diverse order of ectothermic organisms that occupy a wide array of habitat types and perform vital ecological roles for the systems in which they inhabit (Davic & Welsh, 2004). Many salamander species remain under-researched and poorly understood, resulting in minimal management and large uncertainty about the potential effects of such management. One example species is the Neuse River Waterdog, Necturus lewisi. N. lewisi is endemic exclusively to the Neuse and Tar River basins in Eastern North Carolina. Population trends are largely unknown, but current surveying indicates possible declines of 10-30% across the species range. Declines in abundance are likely to continue despite being classified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need by the North Carolina State Wildlife Action Plan, because this status does not guarantee research and management funding in the same way threatened and endangered species might. Without proper research, it is virtually impossible to know the impacts of current management on N. lewisi and its habitat. The purpose of this grant is to conduct a multi-year project to increase knowledge about Neuse River Waterdog demographics, population size, and associations with habitat health in order to better manage for the species future survival.

Develop Algorithms for Determining Optimal Pest Management Solutions

PI: Jones, Christopher Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS)
Amount Awarded: $131,989

Abstract: The primary purpose of this agreement is to develop algorithms for determining optimal pest management solutions. We will use four algorithms: Approximate Bayesian Computation, Genetic Algorithms, Simulated Annealing, and Probabilistic Programming. Further, we expand on these approaches by building an ensemble of the optimal management solutions from each algorithm to provide a more robust approach than any one algorithm alone. Decision makers and stakeholders can view the effectiveness of each solution – measured by preventing quarantine escape, minimizing populations, or conserving agricultural commodities or tree species – on the Tangible Landscape, the PoPS dashboard, or any GIS platform.

Comparative Assessment of Global Wood Fiber Production Prospects

PI: Cubbage, Frederick W.
Direct Sponsor Name: Mississippi State University
Amount Awarded: $20,678

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Affiliate Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Bast Fibre Technologies Inc.
Amount Awarded: $0

Eradication Analysis & Decision Support (eRADS)

PI: Jones, Christopher Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS)
Amount Awarded: $109,025

Abstract: The Eradication Analysis & Decision Support (eRADS) tool helps evaluate the decision to eradicate or contain a pest. First, eRADS identifies the area of concern using data on the pest distribution, its associated hosts, and what is known about the biology of the pest. Next, eRADS quantifies landscape metrics in the action area â€“ specifically the connectivity of suitable hosts â€“ and the Pest or Pathogen Spread (PoPS, Jones et al. 2021) to determine how likely the pest could disperse. Then, eRADS leverages what we know about the pest from CAPS datasheets, New Pest Response Guidelines (NPRG), or New Pest Advisory Group (NPAG) reports to evaluate treatment options and determine how quickly they might be deployed.

Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII)

PI: Lee, Yuan S.
Direct Sponsor Name: University of California – Los Angeles
Amount Awarded: $686,204

Abstract: CESMII, the Smart Manufacturing Institute, has developed a Smart Manufacturing Platformâ„¢ for setting up and operating data contextualization, visualization, analytics, model comparison, and control. The standards for this Platformâ„¢ are being developed with CESMII s members across the industry. CESMII now has asked NC State to create a Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center (SMIC) to deploy, develop, and demonstrate the Smart Manufacturing Platformâ„¢. Technical design of the implementation would be by a separate contract with Avid Solutions, a systems integrator in Morrisville, NC. The requested budget for Year 2020 Quarter 1 is the first step to establish NCSU as a SMIC and to connect NCSU s strategic manufacturing testbed assets to CESMII s SM Platformâ„¢.

Plant-Aid: A Data Driven and Sensor Integrated Platform to Monitor Emerging Plant Diseases

PI: Ristaino, Jean B.
Direct Sponsor Name: Game-Changing Research Incentive Program for Plant Sciences (GRIP4PSI)
Amount Awarded: $437,304

Abstract: Emerging plant disease and pest outbreaks reduce food security, national security, human health, and the environment, with serious economic implications for North Carolina growers. These outbreaks may accelerate in coming decades due to shifts in the geographic distributions of pests, pathogens and vectors in response to climate change and commerce. Data-driven agbioscience tools can help growers solve pest and disease problems in the field more quickly but there is an urgent need to harness game-changing technologies. Computing devices are now embedded in our personal lives with sensors, wireless technology, and connectivity in the â€œInternet of Thingsâ€ (IoT) but these technologies have yet to be scaled to agriculture. Our interdisciplinary team will build transformative sensor technology to identify plant pathogens, link local pathogen data and weather data, bioinformatics tools (pathogen genotypes), and use data driven analytics to map outbreaks, estimate pest and pathogen risk and economic damage, in order to coordinate response to emerging diseases, and contain threats. Sensor-supported early and accurate detection of pathogens before an outbreak becomes wide-spread in growing crops will significantly reduce pesticide use and increase crop yields.

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: Hancock Timber Resource Group
Amount Awarded: $150,000

Effect of Growing Media Properties and Container Geometry on Fraser Fir Germination and Transplant Success

PI: Jackson, Brian Eugene
Direct Sponsor Name: Christmas Tree Promotion Board
Amount Awarded: $41,331

Abstract: The Christmas tree industry throughout the country, including growers in North Carolina, are facing unprecedented challenges with growing systems, disease pressure, and competing markets. Growers are turning to container production of young trees (Fraser Fir) to mitigate the pressure soil-borne diseases when growing outdoors in the field and also as means of shortening young tree production time. With the advantages and opportunities that come with container production of young trees also comes new challenges. Growing young trees in containers filled with soilless growing media is very different than growing in field (mineral) soil. The scope of this research proposal includes the specific formulation of growing media for us in seed containers and the mathematical modeling of various industry containers to predict physical properties and water drainage profiles to identify best growing practices of Fraser Fir seedlings.

Foliar Fungal Endophytes for Enhanced Sustainability and Resilience of Corn, Hemp, Soybean, Switchgrass, and Wheat

PI: Hawkes, Christine
Direct Sponsor Name: Game-Changing Research Incentive Program for Plant Sciences (GRIP4PSI)
Amount Awarded: $434,028

Wood Supply Assessment in North Carolina: Examining Market Dynamics, Resource Availability and Sustainability

PI: Parajuli, Rajan
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Amount Awarded: $79,028

Abstract: This project will assess the timber resource availability and sustainability in North Carolina. The specific objectives are to: â€¢ Assess historical trends in forest land-use changes and resource inventory in survey units in North Carolina using the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) dataset. â€¢ Based on the current state of timber supply and demand, project annual timber inventory, removals, and prices by species types and grades using the Sub-Regional Timber Supply (SRTS) model. The projection analyses will be for the entire state, FIA survey units, and specific wood-basket regions. â€¢ Estimate demand and supply models of hardwood and softwood pulpwood markets for two micro-markets in North Carolina, and evaluate the impact of emergence of wood pellets industry in pulpwood stumpage. Based on the estimated market-specific price elasticity values, update the SRTS model (new elasticity values and 2017 TPO data) and examine the pulpwood resource sustainability in North Carolina micro-markets. â€¢ Assess the hardwood resource availability and sustainability in North Carolina from a mills perspective. We will conduct sensitivity analyses to refine just accessible hardwood resources and their sustainable uses. â€¢ [OPTIONAL] Identify the major hotspots where new forest-based industries could be best positioned to sustainably utilize forest resource feedstock for different products in North Carolina. Use a Hot Spot Analysis toolâ€”available in ArcGISâ€”which calculates the Getis-Ord (GI) statistics in each FIA plot, taking into account the woody resources in its surrounding plots.

Gopher Tortoise Habitat – Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Monitoring

PI: Forrester, Jodi A.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS)
Amount Awarded: $150,000

Abstract: In this study we propose to evaluate forest establishment and maintenance practices implemented as part of the Longleaf Pine Initiative and Working Lands for Wildlife. Sites will be chosen to represent a range of longleaf pine forest ages and planting densities, including seedling planting rates recommended for the establishment of gopher tortoise habitat (450-600 per acre) and rates recommended for timber and/or pine straw production (600-900 per acre). We will measure forest condition and habitat quality to assess if a threshold exists for balancing habitat and timber quality. The results will be used to quantify the benefit of NRCS past conservation efforts and to estimate the potential impact of future work across the gopher tortoise range.

The Silviculture of Populus for Veneer

PI: Ghezehei, Solomon Beyene
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Amount Awarded: $107,757

Abstract: Forestry is the largest manufacturing industry in North Carolina (NC). Yet, opportunities for silviculture of hardwood plantations in western NC, where hardwood sawtimber industries are primarily located, have been missing. From our extensive experience of growing short-rotation woody crops for bioenergy and environmental clean-up in different parts of NC, we understand the importance matching species/clones to site conditions and their establishment and management, know expected production costs and yields under various scenarios, and have observed high growth and survival rates of many Populus clones. We have been identifying poplar clones for their potential for high-value veneer production. Our goal is to study feasibility and development of Populus clones as veneer crops by establishing a Populus-veneer demonstration and research site in western NC Piedmont, develop species, clonal and silvicultural recommendations and enterprise budgets for such plantations, and examine post-coppicing potential of Populus clones for veneer-log production. We will collaborate with Columbia Forest Products to test log quality for veneer processing. A successful launching of Populus for veneer would join in existing markets without the requisite of new mills and offer landowners in the western Piedmont and mountains of NC with smaller stands/fields who tend to â€œtryâ€ new promising crops with an opportunity to produce viable high-value hardwoods.

Automated Host Mapping Tool for Spread Modeling and Field Operations Planning

PI: Jones, Christopher Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS)
Amount Awarded: $96,345

Abstract: Eradication or containment of an invasive pest is one of the most difficult, expensive, and critical decisions that engage state, federal, and private sectors stakeholders. These decisions are complicated by multiple factors that are difficult to predict. These include the host distribution and pest spread potential; the types of surveys, traps, and treatments that are possible; the potential impacts of the pest; the management strategy; and the timeline for making a decision.

AmeriFlux Management Project Core Site – North Carolina Loblolly/Alligator

PI: King, John S
Direct Sponsor Name: Texas A&M University
Amount Awarded: $115,542

Abstract: A cluster of research sites will be maintained according to the Ameriflux Management Program s Statement of Work. The sites include a mid-rotation loblolly pine plantation (site code US-NC2 in the Ameriflux and FLUXNET databases, operational since November 2004), and companion sites in young, recently disturbed loblolly pine plantations (US-NC3 starting 2013) and a natural bottomland forested wetland (US-AR/NC4 starting 2009). All sites are located on the lower coastal plain in North Carolina, and represent a historically established land use gradient. With current common management practices and areal coverage of commercial plantations in different edaphic and climatic regions in the SE-US, the two loblolly plantations are representative of a broader area. The core research at the individual sites and across the cluster focuses on the following topic areas: (1) the magnitude, regulation and variability of carbon and water cycles, (2) the tradeoffs of different management objectives, including productivity, carbon sequestration, water yield, biodiversity, and environmental services to surrounding communities, (3) responses to environmental pressures, like drought, pest outbreaks, and air pollution episodes, (4) validation, testing and development of plant gas exchange and ecosystem models of gas exchange and resource use, (5) projecting changes in flux partitioning under changing climate and environmental conditions, and (6) facilitating the development and validation of new measurement and modeling technologies.

Harnessing (bio-)electrochemical Technologies as Sustainable Sources for on Demand Precision Agriculture

PI: Stapelmann, Katharina
Direct Sponsor Name: Game-Changing Research Incentive Program for Plant Sciences (GRIP4PSI)
Amount Awarded: $457,188

Abstract: Enabling the next generation of sustainable farms requires a paradigm shift in resource management of the two most critical agricultural inputs for food production: water and nitrogen (N) – based fertilizer. Inefficient management of these resources increases food production costs, decreases productivity, and impacts the environment. An integrated approach is needed to improve the sustainability and efficiency throughout the production chain. Emerging (bio)electrochemical (BEC) technologies offer alternatives to conventional, fossil-fuel intensive N fertilizer production. Recently our team has demonstrated two game-changing BEC technologies: 1) microbial conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonium, and 2) plasma generation of N species (e.g., nitrate, nitrite) and other reactive species in water for fertilization and anti-pathogen benefits. We will integrate these technologies to produce BEC, N-based fertilizer, and with advanced sensor and delivery systems, we will precisely supply fertilizers for sustainable precision agriculture. Our proposed approach focuses on the development of a novel â€œBEC fertigation on demand systemâ€ by using sensor-driven data and molecular analyses to investigate BEC fertigation impact on the plants growth, adaptation, and microbiome; its impact on food safety and quality, and its economic feasibility for on-farm deployment.

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Associate Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Genera Inc
Amount Awarded: $20,000

Hunter Perspectives on Chronic Wasting Disease Management in North Carolina

PI: Peterson, Nils
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Amount Awarded: $130,582

Abstract: We propose a project to measure support for chronic wasting disease (CWD) management among North Carolina (NC) deer hunters and determine how that support may change if/when CWD emerges in NC. This information is critical to ensure the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) can most effectively enact CWD prevention measures and carry out an effective response in the future if CWD emerges in the state. This project will address the following research objectives: 1. Measure CWD knowledge levels among deer hunters 2. Measure CWD risk perception among deer hunters 3. Determine intended behaviors related to CWD management among deer hunters 4. Measure willingness to pay for CWD management, and preferred mechanisms for payment, among deer hunters 5. Develop and test a synthesizing theoretical model for relationships among key drivers of deer hunters CWD relevant behaviors

Deer Ecology Across an Urban-Rural Continuum

PI: Hostetter, Nathan James
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Amount Awarded: $1,481,715

Abstract: Urban/suburban areas continue to spread into rural areas, increasing the need to understand deer ecology and assess the cultural impacts of deer and deer hunting across the urban-rural continuum. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is faced with an increased number of interactions between humans and deer in areas of high human and/or deer density, and these interactions often have negative outcomes (e.g., vehicle collisions). There is limited understanding across this continuum of public perceptions and desires of deer and deer hunting, along with little data on deer movements, density, recruitment, survival, and causes of mortality, or how hunting (the primary herd management tool) affects deer populations. Additionally, harvest and survey trends used to monitor herds across county or management zones are confounded by unknown hunter effort and success in these expanding urban/suburban areas. This project aims to increase understanding of spatial and temporal variation in white-tailed deer ecology across an urban-rural continuum in North Carolina and how harvest regulations affect white-tailed deer herds across these landscapes. Results will be available to help evaluate current NCWRC programs (Urban Archery Season, Community DMAP, depredation permits) and adjust or create new programs. Information can also be used to provide technical guidance to municipalities, landowners, and hunters. Results will be applicable to areas across the state and will have implications for other urban-rural areas across the state and country.

Investigating Whether Forest Management Can Improve Water Supply Resilience to Drought and Ensure Adequate Baseflow for Aquatic Species in the Southern Blue Ridge

PI: Martin, Katherine Lee
Direct Sponsor Name: The Nature Conservancy
Amount Awarded: $72,494

Abstract: The Southern Blue Ridge (SBR) encompasses over 9.4 million acres, with some of the largest blocks of unfragmented forests in the country and over 4 million acres in public protection. This area is known to provide drinking water to large urban areas significantly downstream, including over 2 million people in Charlotte, NC, and residents in Atlanta, GA. The SBR also has the highest diversity of salamanders in the world, and exceptionally diverse freshwater systems that support at least 66 at-risk aquatic species, 20 of which are federally-listed as threatened or endangered. Yet, baseflow in SBR streams are markedly changing due to both climate change temperature increases in the region as well as forest community composition shifts, known as â€œmesophicationâ€. Researchers have documented that the region has been warming 0.5Â°C each decade since the 1980s, leading to evaporation and long-term declines in the amount of water in SBR rivers. Mesophication occurs when drought and water resilient treesâ€“such as oaks and hickoriesâ€’ are being significantly outcompeted by water-using species such as maples and poplars. A tulip poplar can use up to 4x the amount of water as the same sized oak tree, and when this vegetation shift happens over millions of acres, researchers have documented up to an 18% decline of water yield in streams due to the changing trees. Together, these changes threaten the long-term sustainability of water supplies and the adequate baseflow needed for some of the rare aquatic species. TNC and partners conduct extensive amounts of forest restoration in the SBR, attempting to maintain balance of oaks and hickories in the forest systems. Yet, significant questions remain about the implications of forest management on stream baseflows as well as where the best places to conduct restoration should occur to improve the resilience of water supplies and ensure baseflow for aquatic species.

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Associate Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: National Bamboo
Amount Awarded: $20,000

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Full Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Central National Gottesman Inc.
Amount Awarded: $60,000

NC FY21 Biocontrol of EAB 6.1047.01

PI: Oten, Kelly Lynn Felderhoff
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS)
Amount Awarded: $67,674

Abstract: Ash (Fraxinus) tree species in North America face a significant threat from the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis, EAB), an exotic beetle native to Asia that was first detected in 2002 infesting urban forests surrounding Detroit, MI. Since its accidental introduction, this invasive pest has spread to 35 states, the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba, and killed hundreds of millions of ash trees. The first detections of EAB in North Carolina occurred in 2013 in Granville, Person, Vance, and Warren counties, and it has since spread to a number of additional counties throughout the mountains, Piedmont, and upper coastal plain where it threatens to extirpate all four ash species native to the state. Of particular concern is the loss of green ash (F. pennsylvanica) which is planted widely as a shade tree in urban and suburban areas and is an important timber species in the state. It is valued for both wood products and biomass production and is considered a premier species for dual wastewater treatment and bioenergy production systems. Classical biological control, the importation and release of natural enemies from a pest s native range, is one of the primary management strategies currently utilized to combat the EAB infestation in North America. Three parasitoid species from Asia are currently released, one that targets EAB eggs and two that target EAB larvae. The larval parasitoids target specific EAB larval stages, so the proper timing of releases to coincide with appropriate larval stages is critical. Current EAB phenology is based on field studies conducted in Michigan and other nearby Midwestern states; these data are currently being utilized to time parasitoid releases throughout the infested range. However, EAB larval parasitoids have failed to establish south of the 40th parallel which suggests a phenological mismatch between the timing of parasitoid release and the presence of appropriate EAB life stages in the southern United States. This mismatch is supported the NC Forest Service and NCDA&CS field data that indicates EAB overwinters as larvae in central North Carolina while most studies in the north report EAB overwintering as prepupae. Data are lacking for the year-round phenological progression of EAB life stages in central North Carolina in order to understand the best time to release parasitoids and maximize their chance of establishment.

Game Changer: a Mechanical Insecticide for Mosquitoes, Sand Flies, Filth Flies and Other Arthropods from Volcanic Rock

PI: Roe, Richard M.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Army
Amount Awarded: $749,076

Abstract: Project is to develop a mechanical insecticide for mosquito, filth fly and sand fly control for the US military.

Firewood Business Development & Education

PI: Laleicke, Paul Frederik
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Amount Awarded: $23,999

Abstract: Wood Products Extension at NC State University is assisting the NC Forest Service to prepare and conduct two firewood workshops in North Carolina and Virginia between July 2021 and June 2022. The project includes the development of a business guide to aid new and existing firewood businesses. Workshops will include presentations by industry professionals, foresters, equipment vendors, and firewood business owners and managers, as well as outdoor demonstrations. At the end of the project, a summary will be developed to capture the impact of this outreach activity.

An Assessment of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Criteria and Indicators: Enhancing Information for Criterion 7; Legal, Institutional, and Economic Indicators

PI: Cubbage, Frederick W.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $95,000

Membership in Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC)

PI: Baker, Justin Scott
Direct Sponsor Name: WestRock CP, LLC
Amount Awarded: $78,000

Advancing the Capacity of the North Carolina Sentinel Landscape Partnership

PI: Bardon, Robert E.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Endowment for Forestry & Communities, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $150,000

Abstract: The NCSLP is in its 13th year of operation, formally since 2016 and prior to 2016 as core group of the Partnership that began to amplify its vision, mission, and implement signature projects that the NCSLP has uniquely done. This proposal is requesting financial support to bolster the NCSLP s continued efforts that are focused on the ENCSL. The NCSLP is working to protect the military mission in North Carolina, its forested and agriculture working lands, and its natural and water resources by minimizing the impact of encroachment and incompatible land uses that effect both the military and surrounding communities. By fully implementing the Sentinel Landscape program in North Carolina the NCSLP will achieve multiple benefits that allow North Carolina to be more effective.

Forecasting Prescribed Fire Smoke within Vulnerable Communities in Southern Appalachia

PI: Scheller, Robert
Direct Sponsor Name: Bureau of Land Management
Amount Awarded: $25,000

Abstract: While managers continue to set goals for increasing prescribed fire in the southern Appalachians, population density is also increasing and WUI communities are expanding. Locations of existing communities and future WUI development strongly influence locations and timing for implementing prescribed burns. Little work has been published that addresses cumulative smoke exposure from prescribed fire in southern Appalachian communities, with specific consideration for existing community vulnerabilities. The proposed research responds to the issues of smoke exposure, community vulnerability, and expanding WUI development using a long-term modeling approach. Landscape change, including dynamic fuels and fire emissions, is linked to VSMOKE to model multi-decadal smoke dispersal from priority burn sites in western North Carolina. Modeled emissions and smoke dispersal will be spatially overlain with social vulnerability indices and hypothetical WUI development, such that managers can more readily analyze and understand community characteristics adjacent to prescribed fire locations.

I/UCRC Phase III North Carolina State University Center for Advanced Forestry Systems (CAFS)

PI: Cook, Rachel
Direct Sponsor Name: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Amount Awarded: $182,954

Abstract: The Center for Advanced Forestry System (CAFS) was established as an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on September 1, 2007. Phase II for CAFS was approved for the four original sites effective October 1, 2013. Currently, there are five sites in addition to the four original sites (University of Maine, University of Georgia, University of Washington, University of Idaho and Auburn University). We are applying to continue with Phase III which would carry NCSU to the end of the IUCRC program, at which time CAFS will be a self-sustaining Center focusing on national level cooperative research that affects forest industry on a broad scale. CAFS brings together industry and agency scientists and practitioners and university scientists from across the country to take interdisciplinary approaches to solving problems facing our nations planted and natural forests and provide for a future with sustainable, healthy forests that provide an economic foundation to many communities and industries, as well as numerous other environmental services.

Understanding The Sustainability, Conversion Economics and Performance of Bio-Polyethylene for Nonwovens, NWI Core Project

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Nonwovens Institute
Amount Awarded: $149,398

Abstract: The Asia Pacific region is forecasted to experience the major growth in production and demand for wipes (and thus wipe substrate) over the next 10-15 years. Even though production facilities in the region might be designed to meet local demand, it is possible that an overflow of substrate materials will affect the current trade flow and thus the industry in North America (NA). Similar market dynamics have been documented in the textile and pulp and paper industry. Therefore, it is important to analyze not only how the nonwovens supply chain will evolve but also how to minimize impacts for manufacturing facilities in NA as the wipe substrate overflows occur over the next decade. An adaptable supply chain and impact assessment model applicable to different types of nonwoven materials, using wipes substrate market segment as a case study, will enable the industry to design strategic scenarios to embrace market changes and build competitive advantages. To achieve this goal, we have assembled a team with expertise in supply chain, conversion economics, data analytics, and materials science. Milestones include identification of major drivers for growth and megatrends for NA and selected countries in Asia, development of a supply chain network for raw materials, forecasting of new production volumes and cost, and estimate their effect on the trade balance of wipes substrate. Additionally, the model will enable to perform combined data analysis (including psychographics) to recognize trends as well as identify substrates with the highest and lowest risk for competition in NA.

Aquatic Biodegradability of Non-woven disposable structures – NWI Core Project

PI: Venditti, Richard A.
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Nonwovens Institute
Amount Awarded: $150,000

Abstract: It is hypothesized that the biodegradability of synthetic, natural and emerging bio-based polymer product are not fully understood in aerobic or anaerobic conditions in surface waters and may accumulate in the environment. The recalcitrance of some of these natural materials may be due to the chemical or compositional modifications to impart desired product properties. For instance, many naturally based nonwoven materials have additives incorporated to develop water, oil, or UV resistance. The overall goal of this study is to determine the factors that determine the aquatic biodegradability in surface waters (fresh and sea water) of non-woven products used in disposable applications. These factors will include the fiber structure, chemistry and assembly in the non-woven structure. The objectives of the study are the following: (1) To benchmark common disposable non-woven products with regard to their aquatic biodegradation in fresh and sea waters. (2) To benchmark natural fibers, semi-natural biobased fibers, and synthetic fibers used in non- wovens for their aquatic biodegradation in fresh or sea waters. (3) To understand how chemical, physical, and polymeric characteristics of non-woven fibers affect the aquatic biodegradation. (4) To determine how chemical and physical treatments of the fibers affect the aquatic biodegradation. (5) To model and predict the fate of such fibers in the environment, including the lifetime, fate and adsorption of toxic organic chemicals. The results of the study will allow non-woven manufacturers, researchers, suppliers, and consumers to better understand how the choice of materials will affect expected aquatic degradation, allowing all stakeholders to make more informed and better material choice decisions

Prescribed Fire and Air Quality to Minimize Smoke Impacts

PI: Bardon, Robert E.
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
Amount Awarded: $12,500

Abstract: Managing fire adapted species, such as longleaf and shortleaf pine, properly with prescribed fire not only helps restore the ecosystems, but yields associated benefits such as reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, thereby protecting air quality, and improving wildlife habitat for game, at- risk, and endangered species. The Comprehensive Strategy for Prescribed Fire was written to fulfill the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability s (SERPPAS) Strategic Action Plan goal of developing a comprehensive, regional strategy for increasing prescribed burning in the Southeast. NCSU Extension will continue to effectively implement the Prescribed Fire Strategy through coordination, outreach, and education. NCSU Extension will work with the SERPPAS Prescribed Fire Work Group, the Southern Group of State Fire Chiefs, the Environmental Protection Agency, state air quality representatives, the Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils, or others to minimize local smoke impacts on air quality and public health and safety and maximize coordination between air and fire communities.

Catalytic Upgrading of Carbohydrates in Waste Streams to Hydrocarbons

PI: Park, Sunkyu
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Energy (DOE) – Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)
Amount Awarded: $1,250,807

Fork to Farmer Video

PI: Banks, Shawn Nelson
Direct Sponsor Name: Crystal Coast Tourism Authority
Amount Awarded: $5,000

Abstract: The overall aim of this project is to increase visibility of local farmers and fishers that supply Carteret County restaurants. This will show visitors that some of the county’s restaurants are truly farm-to-table and local catch, which is a claim used by many destinations but that can be substantiated with compelling images captured in the county.

Resistance is Futile

PI: Lucia, Lucian
Direct Sponsor Name: Eastman Chemical Company
Amount Awarded: $188,048

Abstract: We will perform an investigative review of the abrasion phenomenon in Tritan polymers as part of providing a potential solution. Based on the mechanistic information obtained, we will circumvent surface (abrasion) damage by adopting an innovative surface chemistry approach: we will incorporate friction-dissipating macromolecular dendron assemblies. We will refer to them as tribophores either on the surface or within the bulk of the polyester backbone.

Unlimited Genomics Applications through High-Resolution, Sub-Cellular Precision Sample Isolation and Imaging

PI: Whitehill, Justin
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA)
Amount Awarded: $492,378

Abstract: The Equipment Grants Program (EGP) serves to increase access to shared special purpose equipment for scientific research for use in the food and agricultural sciences programs in our Nation s institutions of higher education, including State Cooperative Extension System

Forest Health Monitoring, Assessment, and Analysis

PI: Conkling, Barbara L.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $338,410

Abstract: The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program is a long term, national monitoring and research effort focusing on forest ecosystems. This interagency program is designed to assist resource managers and policy makers in managing forest resources in the United States, allocating funds for research and development, and evaluating the effectiveness of environmental policies. FHM national reporting efforts include an annual technical report that presents analysis and synthesis of technical information at national and multi-state levels as well as other publications that provide information about national forest health conditions and management priorities. Through the work in this agreement, the principal investigators and other research personnel will provide the Forest Health Monitoring Research Team of the USFS Southern Research Station s Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center (EFETAC) with data analyses, natural resource assessments, and technical writing skills in support of the national Forest Health Monitoring Program s annual forest health status and trends report, and other research, analysis, and reporting tasks. The principal investigators and other personnel will also provide support to the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program in documentation development and updates for field procedures and the FIA public database.

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Full Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Eastman Chemical Company
Amount Awarded: $60,000

Expanding Forest Management and Promoting Ecosystem Services through access to Environmental Markets: Modeling landscape changes using Landis-II

PI: Scheller, Robert
Direct Sponsor Name: US Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $59,895

Abstract: There are two major objectives of this project. The first is to reparametrize and re-run LANDIS-II for the Tahoe Central Sierra Initiative landscape. The output of these model runs will then be used as input to a hydrologic model. The second objective is to couple the output of a FORSYS model run, which will provide an optimized portfolio of management activities, to LANDIS-II, and to run LANDIS-II over a 40 year time horizon in order to verify that the management portfolio provides adequate levels of ecosystem services. A third objective is to lead or assist with at least one peer reviewed publication or report.

Towards Near Real-time Monitoring of Forest Disturbance and Myanmar Using Multi-source Imagery (Ian McGregor)

PI: Gray, Joshua Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
Amount Awarded: $90,000

Abstract: As one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss, deforestation is a major issue in Myanmar and has been increasing since the democratization of the country in the 1990s. Though regulations against deforestation are in place, enforcement is often unreliable due to the latency and coarseness of available forest loss data. However, recent advances in remote sensing have made the ability of near real-time (NRT) monitoring possible at smaller scales. Although NRT monitoring methods have become much better in recent years, for the most part they remain methods that create daily deforestation (or â€œchangeâ€) alerts. To our knowledge, the best methods are consistently accurate to deforested areas of 6 ha in size. This is helpful for identifying larger instances of clear-cutting, for example, but small-scale methods are necessary for smaller forested areas that primarily endure selective logging. I therefore propose to utilize these developments, combined with advanced Bayesian statistical methods and cloud-based high-power computing (e.g. Google Earth Engine), to create a continuously ground-validated, reduced-latency deforestation monitoring system for local forest managers. Given how quickly deforestation can occur at small scales before being noticed with current methods, and the rapidity with which satellite data is available, this research represents a logical step forward by building off existing work such as change detection analyses and Bayesian statistics. Also to our knowledge, this will be the first study to combine satellite data with Bayesian statistical analysis for the purpose of moving toward NRT monitoring. Successful implementation will majorly improve conservation efforts in Myanmar and subsequently forests around the world.

Factors affecting spatial distribution of overstory and understory yellow pine in mixed pine/hardwood forests within the EFR network

PI: Rathbun, Leah Christine
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $70,000

Abstract: This study directly addresses Forest Restoration and, more specifically, shortleaf pine restoration in support of the Shortleaf Pine Initiative; a priority research topic identified by both SRS and R8. This study will continue to build upon and refine our knowledge related to the ecology and management of southern yellow pine communities across the South. This study takes advantage of the widespread distribution of shortleaf pine across the EFR Network and builds upon current EFR-related projects specific to shortleaf pine, including a study assessing current and future shortleaf pine habitat and population trends and a study examining the genetic diversity/hybridization of shortleaf pine. The primary goal associated with this study is to improve our understanding of the ecology and management of shortleaf pine and, more broadly, southern yellow pine ecosystems across the southern region. Specific objectives include: 1) Quantify the shortleaf pine/southern yellow pine resource on key experimental forests within the eastern SRS s EFR network using LiDAR and field data/NAIP imagery. 2) Quantify the spatial arrangement of the existing shortleaf/southern yellow pine overstory and understory within the selected EFRs. 3) Identify environmental factors influencing the spatial distribution of shortleaf/southern yellow pine (overstory and understory) within and among selected EFRs. Factors may include edaphic conditions, disturbance history, distance to seed sources, and various topographic variables (slope, aspect, solar radiation load, etc.).

Innovations in the Theory and Application of Models for Human and Natural Caused Disturbances in Forests

PI: Sills, Erin O.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $257,711

Abstract: Existing expertise in disturbances in forests has improved our understanding, modeling, and forecasting of the future conditions and use of both US and global forests. These disturbances vary by region across the US, and by ecoregion globally, and include wildfire, harvesting, land use change, insect and disease outbreaks, and others. We focus on the first two of these disturbances because of the synergies known to exist between harvesting and wildfire in both the U.S. and Brazil. This will require cooperation of investigators from NCSU (Dr. Erin Sills and a postdoctoral scholar) and USFS Research and Development (Jeffrey Prestemon). This research will focus on (1) the impact of harvesting and wildfires on forest conditions, and the relationships between markets for timber and responses to forest disturbances, and (2) how climate and policy influence the expenditures made to prepare for and respond to forest disturbances, focusing on wildfire.

GCE Phase III: Optimization and Deployment: Nutrient-Rich Biodegradable Matrix for Crop Protection

PI: Opperman, Charles H.
Direct Sponsor Name: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Amount Awarded: $2,467,316

Abstract: Smallholder farming practices in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) include land-raised seed (piece) use, continuous cultivation (often monoculture) with limited inputs, and virtually non-existent seed (piece) treatment techniques. Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is the primary example of this cropping system and is an extremely important and valuable crop for smallholder farmers in SSA. These practices result in nutrient-depleted soils, nematode infestation, and ultimately low crop yields. Reducing the nematode population in crop soil will dramatically increase crop yield and quality. In many cases, smallholder farmers in SSA lose greater than 50% of their crop to plant-parasitic nematodes, primarily due to lack of available and affordable control options. For this BMG GCE Phase III proposal, we will build upon our promising results from Phase II trials, including increased yields and higher tuber quality and storability for both yam and potato, and use our expertise and connections for pulping banana fiber to validate and prepare for commercialization a developing-world transferable product platform enabling a field deployable paper-like seed (piece) treatment to combat plant pathogenic nematodes. In addition, this platform will be amenable to delivering other crop production moieties, including natural products and oils, necessary minerals and nutrients, or insecticides and fungicides, with its application. Our laboratories expertise in nematology and lignocellulosic fibrous materials enables us to target the delivery of beneficial small molecules during seed (piece) germination and plant establishment. Importantly the incorporation of active ingredients into a lignocellulose matrix, such as banana tissue paper, allows for widespread distribution of crop protection agents without interfering in smallholder farming practices. The shelf-stable light-weight banana tissue paper can be applied at the point of seed (piece) planting where farmers can use the concept of wrap and plant with their own seeds/pieces. Our wrap and plant product will be an active paper sheet pretreated with ultralow concentrations of active nematicidal ingredient to simply wrap and protect the seed (piece) at planting. The localization of active ingredients carried directly within the paper targets specific plant pathogenic nematodes versus beneficial organisms. Nematodes are primarily a seedling disease, so protection early is critical to the success of the crop, although post harvest losses do occur in yam due to the yam nematode (Scutellonema bradys). Reduction in nematode populations by deploying the wrap and plant product protects yam from significant infections that may lead to these post-harvest losses. Our ultimate goal is to validate the wrap and plant product in Phase III and to translate the product manufacture to a regional African company for commercialization and distribution.

Forest Health Monitoring and Assessment

PI: Conkling, Barbara L.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $405,511

Abstract: The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program is a long term, national monitoring and research effort focusing on forest ecosystems. This interagency program is designed to assist resource managers and policy makers in managing forest resources in the United States, allocating funds for research and development, and evaluating the effectiveness of environmental policies. FHM national reporting efforts include an annual technical report that presents analysis and synthesis of technical information at national and multi-state levels as well as other publications that provide information about national forest health conditions and management priorities. Through the work in this agreement, the principal investigators and other research personnel will provide the Forest Health Monitoring Research Team of the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station s Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center (EFETAC) with data analyses, natural resource assessments, and technical writing skills in support of the national Forest Health Monitoring Program s annual forest health status and trends report, and other research, analysis, and reporting tasks. The principal investigators and other personnel will also provide support to the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program in documentation development and updates for field procedures and the FIA public database.

Forestry of the Future: Improving Student Readiness and Workforce Participation of Underrepresented Minority Populations in Forest Resources

PI: Leggett, Zakiya Holmes
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA)
Amount Awarded: $246,000

Abstract: The US South has 245 million acres of forestland covering 46% of total land use. This region is the largest wood basket in the world where 60% of US timber derives largely from managed softwood plantations and hardwood forests. These forest systems are major economic engines to rural economies. However, nationwide, forest resources has the lowest minority representation within Food, Agricultural, Natural Resources, and Human Sciences and even lower representation in the US South. Diversity enrollment and matriculation have failed due to poor intersections of academic support, peer community support, mentoring, leadership development, and â€œreadinessâ€ work skills. This NNF program builds on a pilot program to pipeline minority undergraduates from HBCUs to successful graduate training in forest resources at NC State University (NCSU). The proposed program recruits HBCU undergraduates and offers pre-admission mentoring and professional development for a Master s of Forestry at NCSU. Our NNF program will recruit and retain four, high-caliber minority forestry graduate students and prepare them for matriculation and professional success through NNF-specific programmatic, curricular, and industry experiences in forest resources. Key NNF program elements are a minority Mentoring/Leadership Community (MLC), certified forest curriculum, and industry internships in the automation, economics, biotechnology, and science communication of forest resources. The NNF cohort will mentor minority undergraduates, disseminate their experiences, network with professionals, and participate in annual NNF program performance assessment to support pipeline sustainability. This project supports USDA s goal to develop a diverse and highly-skilled workforce for employment shortages in forest resources.

FMRG: Future Eco Manufacturing of Soft Electronics

PI: Zhu, Yong
Direct Sponsor Name: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Amount Awarded: $2,998,710

Abstract: The objective of this proposal is to realize a circular economic system for manufacturing of soft electronics where a coordinated set of sustainable manufacturing processes and a select group of novel biodegradable and reusable materials are seamlessly integrated. It is anticipated that all components of the device can be either biodegraded or recycled/reused, and the project will explore different end-of-life pathways from both technical, economic, and environmental perspectives (e.g., through life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis). Our team has faculty members from mechanical engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, Industrial Engineering, and sustainable engineering, allowing us to propose a hybrid approach from material design/synthesis all the way to device manufacturing.

Research to Promote the Conservation and Long-term Sustainability of Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) at the Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary, North Carolina

PI: Jetton, Robert M
Direct Sponsor Name: Cary, NC
Amount Awarded: $25,000

Abstract: Located in the heart of Cary, North Carolina, Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve is an important ecological, cultural, and recreational resource for the local community. In addition to providing trails and education programs that allow people of all ages to become more familiar with the natural word that surrounds their daily lives, the unique geology of this Piedmont site creates a home for plant species more typical of the mountains of western North Carolina such as galax, and provides refuge for numerous species of reptiles, amphibians, mammals, arachnids, and insects against the ongoing urbanization of Cary. At the center of this unique ecosystem is eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), a tree species known as the â€œredwood of the eastâ€ that is a canopy dominant species in the forests of the Southern Appalachian, mid-Atlantic, northeastern, and upper mid-western regions of the United States. At Hemlock Bluffs it is a relic of past glacial periods when many northern and mountain tree species survived below glacial margins in the Piedmont and coastal regions of the southeast. As the glaciers retreated many of these tree species migrated to areas now considered to be their natural environments, but the cool, moist environment of the north-facing bluffs along Swift Creek provides a niche where this small population of eastern hemlock is able to survive more than 200 miles distant from its typical habitat. The hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) is an exotic insect from Japan that has caused widespread decline and mortality of eastern hemlock throughout its native range in the eastern United States and threatens the extinction of this keystone forest tree species. Although initial predictions suggested that the isolation of Hemlock Bluffs from the core of the hemlock range would make introduction of this destructive insect unlikely, the adelgid was detected at the preserve in 2010. Since that time, the Town of Cary has worked closely with Bartlett Tree Experts and research and forest health management professionals from North Carolina State University, the North Carolina Forest Service, and the USDA Forest Service to develop a management strategy to limit the impact of the hemlock woolly adelgid at Hemlock Bluffs. So far, the combination of careful adelgid population monitoring and 2 use of chemical insecticides to control the insect when found has worked well. However, much of what we know about the long-term management of this pest comes from research and development activities developed for forests within the core of the eastern hemlock range. Given the unique nature of this Piedmont location and the growing influence of surrounding urbanization, research aimed at developing a better understanding of the genetic and ecosystem processes at this site will allow for the development of management and conservation strategies tailored specifically for Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve. This proposal documents three research projects that the Camcore program at North Carolina State University, in collaboration with our university, state, and federal cooperators, feel will aid in improving the long-term sustainability of Cary s eastern hemlock resources.

Unearthing interacting nontuberculous mycobacterial, environmental, and host determinants of lung Disease in the Hawaiian Islands

PI: Pacifici, Jamian
Direct Sponsor Name: National Jewish Health
Amount Awarded: $156,570

Abstract: The main objectives of this proposal are to fill current gaps in knowledge of nontuberculous mycobacteria ecology and disease transmission using the Hawaiian Islands as a model to understand the critical factors that influence how NTM inhabiting water and soil environments become infectious agents responsible for a recalcitrant lung disease. The specific aims of this proposal are to 1) conduct island-wide environmental sampling and use genomic profiling, soil and water analyses, and climate data to survey the environmental and epidemiological factors associated with the frequency and diversity of NTM in Hawai i; 2) conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of matched Hawaiian environmental and clinical NTM isolates to identify species of NTM and to link environmental influences and patient behavior with prevalence of NTM infection; and 3) build a predictive model of NTM transmission to understand disease dynamics in the Hawaiian Islands. This model may then be used to study these bacteria and associated lung disease with results that are likely generalizable to other areas of the world.

Monitoring the Carolina hemlock ecosystem: assessing health across the landscape and through time

PI: Forrester, Jodi A.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $50,988

Abstract: A monitoring program for Carolina hemlock ecosystems will be implemented across the species range. Vulnerability will be assessed using long-term growth, climate, and insect infestation patterns. Growth and mortality rates from the spatially extensive empirical data will be tested against Carolina hemlock status conditions from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program data.

A Citizen Science Internship Program to Quantify Racial and Economic Disparities in Lead Levels in Drinking Water Across North Carolina

PI: Cooper, Caren Beth
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Water Resources Research Institute
Amount Awarded: $59,999

Abstract: Ninety-seven of the one hundred counties in North Carolina have at least one community water system with leaded infrastructure. Collectively, these systems serve 10 million people. In 20 counties, 80% or more of the water systems reported leaded infrastructure, serving a total of over one million North Carolinians. Unfortunately, water systems do not have records with sufficient detail to identify highest risk areas at finer spatial scales. Furthermore, there is virtually no data, at any scale, about the privately owned portions of the water transportation systems, namely the privately owned portion of the service line and the household premise plumbing. This proposal addresses the problem that leaded drinking water infrastructure poses a significant health risk across NC. Water utilities cannot properly manage water lead levels without sufficient data about leaded premise plumbing and lead in tap water at households. The EPA funded a project to create Crowd the Tap, a citizen science project in which households share information about their drinking water infrastructure. We propose a Citizen Science Internship program at Shaw University in which student interns function as ambassadors for Crowd the Tap, carrying out direct outreach (in accordance with COVID safety protocols) to priority communities in order to fill data gaps particularly for the DEQs Needs Assessment, NGO/CBO lead mitigation programs, and a statistical model to reliably predict household risk of lead.

Innovating a Community-Based Resilience Model on Climate and Health Equity in the Carolinas

PI: Dello, Kathie
Direct Sponsor Name: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Amount Awarded: $949,999

Abstract: Recent extreme weather and climate events in our region (e.g., 2016 Wildfires, Hurricanes Matthew (2016), Irma (2017), Florence (2018), and Dorian (2019)) signal a significant change from the past, causing unprecedented damage across the Carolinas. The Carolinas are getting wetter, hotter, and more humid in a changing climate. Climate change has and will continue to impact the health and well-being of every community, but not all communities are affected equally . The experiences of minority and underserved communities at the start of the climate crisis will be reproduced in other parts of society as climate change impacts become more pronounced and widespread. These communities are the canaries in the coal mines for the rest of society. The proposed RISA team will build upon years of regional work on climate science, tools and assessments to move into a new phase that centers Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) principles at the forefront of NOAA-funded climate research, and to deliver climate futures to more communities than have been previously served. We will apply a bottom-up participatory action approach to develop a transferrable model for end-to-end co-production of actionable and equitable climate resilience solutions in at-risk communities in the Carolinas. Our aims include: Aim 0. Demonstrate our commitment to addressing the climate reality in a just and equitable way, while ensuring the inclusivity and diversity of all voices are represented in every aspect of our work in the Carolinas; Aim 1. Build and enhance local partnerships in underserved communities across the Carolinas to identify, test, and refine equitable solutions for climate resilience; Aim 2. Understand and predict how co-occurring and consecutive hazards interact with exposure and vulnerability to shape climate risk; Aim 3. Identify and connect the complex linkages between structures of power, intersecting social positions, and climate-health inequities in vulnerable communities; and Aim 4. Design and implement community-sciences programs to track physical and social science metrics and build community-level climate resiliency literacy. Our proposed work addresses the goals of the RISA program by combining regional relevance and local expertise in the Carolinas. Our innovative, integrated physical and social science research will be tailored to the needs and priorities of the participating communities. The solutions we co-produce with minority, low-income communities will be designed to tackle both the societal drivers of risk and the changing climate hazard landscape through knowledge to action networks. The long term goal to devise a national model for addressing the roots of climate inequity through place-based research and education will serve the broader national network of adaptation practitioners.

Fecal contamination source tracking and forecasting to support recreational and cultural development in the Black River watershed

PI: Harris, Angela Rose
Direct Sponsor Name: NCSU Water Resources Research Institute
Amount Awarded: $60,000

Abstract: The Great Coharie River (AKA Great Coharie Creek) is a culturally and environmentally significant water body in Eastern North Carolina. The river has exhibited elevated levels of nutrients and microbial contamination, even after extreme flooding events, and community groups, particularly the Coharie Tribe, are eager to develop a more nuanced understanding of the temporal and spatial dynamics of contamination in the river to ensure human safety during cultural and recreational activities on the river. We propose to conduct high temporal resolution sampling at 4 sites along the river during different seasons and rainfall conditions. Water samples will be analyzed for nutrients, E. coli (fecal indicator bacteria) and source-specific molecular markers of fecal contamination (e.g., human, swine, and poultry). Forecast models will be develop to predict contamination with environmental covariates (e.g., temperature, rainfall, discharge). Working with Coharie Tribe leaders and other community members and applying insights from this research, we will support the development of long-term monitoring plans and decision-making tools for protecting and using the river.

A Conference on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Citizen Science

PI: Cooper, Caren Beth
Direct Sponsor Name: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Amount Awarded: $74,947

Abstract: Citizen science projects number in the thousands and even a single project can engage millions of people. Yet, citizen science is not engaging much beyond highly educated, affluent white participants. The goals of this Conference proposal are to address the urgent need for diversity and inclusion in citizen science. Our primary goal, and strategic impact for the informal STEM learning field, is to create a framework to guide projects in addressing issues of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in institution-driven, large-scale, contributory citizen science projects. Our secondary goal is to extend the effort by preparing a proposal for a Research Coordination Network on inclusion in citizen science. To achieve these goals, we will assemble people with highly varied perspectives, lived experiences, and career experiences for a series of virtual workshops over several months.

Testing Inspection Strategies for the Cut Flower Release Program using PoPS Border Simulation

PI: Jones, Christopher Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS)
Amount Awarded: $41,000

Abstract: We will be using our shipment inspection simulator PoPS Border to make it more user friendly for personal not familar with JSON or coding by allowing a single excel spreadsheet or csv as input. We will then run a suite of scenarios to test the most time efficient means of sampling for the cut flower inspection protocols.

Regional Synthesis of Threats to Forest Carbon and Water Cycling Across the US Southeast

PI: King, John S
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $89,640

Abstract: The southern US is host to ~130 million hectares of forestland distributed (approximately) as 37 % upland hardwoods, 15 % bottomland hardwoods, 14 % mixed oak-pine, 18 % natural pine and 15 % intensively managed pine. In recent decades, this forest estate has becoming increasingly vulnerable to an array of threats. As the pace of climate change increases and the South becomes increasingly urbanized, the extent to which forest ecosystem services provisioning is compromised remains poorly quantified. Yet through existing networks of forest monitoring programs, process-based ecosystem and landscape models, and remote sensing resources, we have the capacity to develop synthetic understanding of current regional forest conditions across the South. The proposed project will perform a region-wide synthesis of existing data on forest carbon (C) and water cycling using data from the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program to quantify current forest C storage of the major forest types distributed across the region. We will pair the forest C inventory data with long-term data on forest C and water cycling (GPP, NEP/NEE, NPP, ET, hydrology) from the Ameriflux Program, of which we are long-term members. A subset of research sites that host both inventory plots and eddy-covariance towers will be used to parameterize and validate ecosystem models to faithfully simulate forest C and water cycling of major forest types across the region. Newly developed remote sensing tools, combined with MODIS/Landsat, will then be used to provide detailed distributions of the major forest types across the region, and will be used to directly link RS observations to tower-based fluxes. Finally, we will develop geospatial modeling tools (e.g. GPP = f(forest type, climate, DEM, fire, drought, etc.), tested against tower-model fusion, to scale results and identify the main drivers and threats affecting forest ecosystem services in a spatially-explicit manner across the entire region.

Prepare and Characterize Wood Treated with Silicates

PI: Kelley, Stephen S
Direct Sponsor Name: T2Earth Holdings, LLC
Amount Awarded: $180,000

Abstract: This work covers the preparation and characterization of silicate treated wood samples. The goal of the work is to create wood products that are decay, insect and fire resistant but do not require the use of toxic chemicals. The overall process can be divided into two steps, 1) Silicate Impregnation and 2) Silicate Curing. The impregnation step will focus on the time, pressure and temperature profile used to impregnate silicate solutions into woody of varying species and dimensions. The initial impregnation conditions will be based on information supplied by T2Earth through their background knowledge and their work with partners. The curing step involves the use either dry or wet curing of the silicate treated wood. Different pressures and gases may also be used in this step. The dry curing will emulate curing in an oven or traditional dry kiln, where there is no barrier to the rapid removal of moisture from the wood. The wet curing will investigate higher heat transfer to the silicate treated wood samples, or steps designed to initially retain moisture in the wood. The curing step is designed to enhance polymerization of the silicate with the goal of improving silica retention, and result in improved decay and fire resistance of the treated wood. These samples will be characterized to determine the silicate concentration profile, retention of the silicate, and for a selected subset of the samples the chemical structure of the wood and silicate. These physical properties will be related to the process conditions.

Urban Black Bears: Diet, Movement, Reproduction and Bearwise Program Evaluation

PI: DePerno, Christopher S
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Amount Awarded: $842,186

Supporting the Development of an Archeology Climate Adaptation Prioritization Framework

PI: Seekamp, Erin Lynn
Direct Sponsor Name: US National Park Service
Amount Awarded: $98,585

Abstract: The primary goal of this project is a planning and decision support tool that will help the NPS and partners prioritize archeological sites for climate adaptation treatments. An equal necessary goal is to involve Tribal and community engagement in how sites are prioritized and how data are handled. Project goal following successful pilot phase is ultimately build-out of a service-wide framework, and use of the results to inform baseline documentation and implement future management decisions.

Growing Greener Foundations through Parks with Purpose with the Walnut Creek Wetlands Community, Year Three

PI: Perrin, Christy A.
Direct Sponsor Name: Conservation Fund
Amount Awarded: $52,910

Abstract: TCF has selected the Walnut Creek Wetland Community Partnership, with the fiscal agency of and supported by NC State University s Water Resource Research Institute (NCSU WRRI), and NCSU College of Natural Resources as a key partner organization for the PWP Initiative in Raleigh. In 2020, WCWCP commits to the following work: deepen the project s engagement with the community, particularly the neighborhoods of Biltmore Hills and Rochester Heights; assist in implementing the Bailey Drive Gateway Project that was selected by the community; and build partnerships and capacity for long term management, engagement, and community-led stewardship.

Mapping Playspace Inequity in Three Locally-focused Colorado Communities

PI: Hipp, James A.
Direct Sponsor Name: KABOOM!
Amount Awarded: $70,050

Abstract: KABOOM! and NC State propose to conduct a comprehensive, cross-system map of playspace inequities that exist within three locally-focused communities to illuminate gaps in access to safe, quality places to play. This data-driven, community-informed approach will ultimately help catalyze equitable and inclusive playspace investments that help address the gaps identified through this project.

Multi-scale Assessment of the Drivers of Neuse River Waterdog (Necturus lewisi) Distribution and Recruitment

PI: Pacifici, Jamian
Direct Sponsor Name: US Geological Survey (USGS)
Amount Awarded: $170,884

Abstract: The Neuse River Waterdog (Necturus lewisi) is an endemic salamander found only in the Neuse and Tar River basins in Eastern North Carolina. Recent survey efforts suggest the species may be declining range-wide with more exaggerated losses in the Neuse River basin. Although previous studies have provided valuable information about the potential influence of both environmental and anthropogenic stressors, they have done so in a limited window of time resulting in a snapshot of conditions indexed at 3 specific time points (early 1980 s, early 2010 s, and 2018-2020) over the last 40 years. These findings have spurred important hypotheses about the relative impact of changes in land use and land cover, but does not allow for an explicit quantification of how those changes in the environment are driving changes in the distribution and productivity of waterdogs. These preliminary results highlight two important gaps in our knowledge. 1) The need to understand important drivers of change at two relevant spatial scales (micro- and meso-scale), and 2) the need to conduct longer term studies to ensure sufficient data to fully evaluate these effects and how they influence changes in population dynamics of waterdogs. Given these needs we propose to build on our prior research by extending sampling for multiple years necessary to meet the following primary objectives: 1) determine the distribution of N. lewisi and how it is changing over space and time as a result of both micro and meso-scale stressors, 2) evaluate micro-and meso-scale drivers of recruitment using multiple sampling techniques, and 3) evaluate future scenarios of LULC and the related persistence of N. lewisi in order to develop a framework for identifying and prioritizing management strategies for species recovery. The study design and associated methods of sampling will also allow us to explore the following secondary objectives: 1) evaluate how much sampling effort is necessary to detect waterdogs at sites across the landscape (i.e. power analysis based on occupancy and detection rates estimated from this study) and 2) assess individual variation in relation to localized site characteristics using additional information collected on individuals (e.g., body condition, morphological measurements, photo ids, tissue samples).

Integrating Carbon Capture, Utilization, & Sequestration into Chemical Pulp Mills

PI: Sagues, William Joseph
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Energy (DOE) – Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)
Amount Awarded: $549,107

Abstract: We propose an integrated technology of low capital intensity that will capture, utilize and sequester carbon dioxide in wood pulping processes. CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) will be utilized by converting two waste streams to mineral carbonate fertilizer. The carbon in the mineral carbonates is derived from carbon dioxide generated in recovery boilers and lime kilns. Excess carbon dioxide that is not utilized as fertilizer will be pumped deep underground into suitable geological reservoirs for permanent sequestration. Retrofitting lime kilns to oxy-fuel will enable low-cost generation of high purity carbon dioxide. If fully implemented at every large chemical pulp mill in the United States, approximately 14 million metric tons of carbon dioxide will be captured, utilized, and sequestered per year.

The North Carolina Strategic Plan for Sustaining Military Readiness Through Conservation Partnership

PI: Bardon, Robert E.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Fish & Wildlife Service
Amount Awarded: $206,782

Abstract: From its Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, North Carolina is rich in its wide-ranging landscape, its diverse population, and flourishing economy. With several grand metropolitan areas and cozy rural towns, the state offers the best of both urban living and small-town life. Currently, North Carolina is considered the 9th most populous state. If population predictions hold, the state will become the 7th most populous state by 2032. With population growth, comes increased urbanization and infrastructure development, a growing rural and urban interface, and encroachment on communities and areas that support and serve the state s military installations. In an effort to establish a landscape scale approach to natural resources management that enriches compatible land use while minimizing multiple encroachment threats and alleviating on-installation constraints, North Carolina is looking to enhance its Eastern Sentinel Landscape to support flexibility for military readiness beyond 2060 while linking co-benefits of conservation and keeping working forests and farms, working.

Quantifying On-Farm Reservoirs Impacts on Surface Hydrology Using a Multi-Sensor Approach (Student: Vinicius Perin)

PI: Tulbure, Mirela Gabriela
Direct Sponsor Name: National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
Amount Awarded: $45,000

Abstract: Fresh water stored by on-farm reservoirs (OFRs) is a fundamental component of surface hydrology and is critical for meeting global irrigation needs. Farmers use OFRs to store water during the wet season for crop irrigation during the dry season. There are more than 2.6 million OFRs in the US alone, and many of these OFRs were constructed during the last 40 years. Despite their importance for irrigating crops, OFRs can contribute to downstream water stress by decreasing stream discharge and peak flow in the watersheds where they are built, thereby exacerbating water stress intensified by climate change and population growth. However, modeling the impact of OFRs on surface hydrology remains a challenge because they are so abundant and have frequent fluctuations in surface area and water volume. Prior to the recent availability of satellite data, widespread monitoring of OFRs surface area and water volume across space and time was impossible due to temporal latency of satellite observations. The goal of this project, therefore, is to harness a multi-sensor satellite imagery approach to reduce observation latency and improve surface hydrology modeling, with the aim of supporting more efficient management of OFRs and mitigation of their downstream impacts. Our objectives are: 1) Develop a multi-sensor imagery approach to reduce latency and obtain sub-weekly OFRs surface area and volume change; and 2) Input sub-weekly OFRs volume change into the Soil Water and Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to estimate OFRs impact on surface hydrology. Specifically for Objective 1, a novel method based on the Kalman filter will be used to harmonize data from multiple optical sensors and to provide sub-weekly OFRs surface area change, which will be converted to volume change using area-elevation equations. Then for Objective 2, we will carry out hydrological simulations in SWAT to quantify OFRs impact on simulated daily and monthly stream discharge, simulating stream discharge with and without the OFRs. We will perform yearly simulations, based on satellite imagery availability, to measure OFRs impact during low and peak flows in each watershed of our study region, which will account for both intra- as well as inter-annual variability in flows. This project will monitor OFRs surface area and volume change to enable better assessment and management of water quantity, and further the use of Earth system science to inform decisions and provide benefits to society regarding preservation of surface water resources, both of which are overarching science goals that guide NASA s Earth Science Division program.

Quantifying On-farm Reservoirs Impacts On Surface Hydrology Using A Multi-sensor Approach. (vini Perin)

PI: Tulbure, Mirela Gabriela
Direct Sponsor Name: National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
Amount Awarded: $0

Abstract: On-farm water reservoirs artificial water impoundment to retain water from rainfall and run-off are essential to global food production, as they enable growers to store water during the rainfall season to support water use during the dry season, particularly for crop irrigation. Understanding their volume spatial temporal variability is essential to describe their impact to terrestrial hydrological system. However, the wide monitoring of inter- and intra-annual volume variability of these waterbodies remains a challenging task since they have a changing nature, a high occurrence number and difficult accessibility in private properties. Therefore, I propose a remote sensing multi-sensor (optical + radar), multi-temporal approach to deliver an assessment of the spatial distribution, volume change, seasonality and hydrological impact of on-farm reservoirs in Eastern Arkansas, United States. I chose Eastern Arkansas due to its importance for irrigated food production; it ranks as the third most irrigated region in the United States and has seen a rapid increase of on-farm reservoirs occurrence since the 1980s. In this study, I will harness the power of openly available satellite imagery (i.e. Landsat-8, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2) and the high-resolution Planet CubeSats combined with digital elevation models, and long-term surface water area datasets (e.g. Dynamic Surface Water Extent) to derive volume-area and volume-elevation relationships. I will apply the widely used Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to model the hydrological impact of on-farm reservoirs at the watershed scale. This study will provide methods and algorithms to guide water authorities and policy makers when implementing water preservation policies in Eastern Arkansas. The findings will advance understanding of the on-farms reservoirs spatial temporal variability in volume, which is pivotal for irrigation planning purposes. The developed methods will be openly available to be applied to other important agricultural regions of the world.

Leveraging Direct-to-Consumer Marketing & Tourism to Diversify Income Streams for Seafood Producers

PI: Harrison, Jane Lindsay
Direct Sponsor Name: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Amount Awarded: $193,988

Abstract: Seafood producers regularly face tremendous disruption, and yet the industry still has much potential to be realized with regards to revenue streams and public awareness. The majority of seafood consumers have little knowledge of product origin and seafood production practices despite their interest in supporting domestic and local producers. If seafood producers can leverage connections with the food and agriculture tourism economy, they will be better poised for sustained growth, or at least, stability. Tourism is the largest ocean economy sector by jobs and GDP in North Carolina and a significant job creator. This project will provide training, marketing assistance, and network building for N.C. commercial fishers and marine aquaculture producers who are wading into the tourism sector.

Pathways to Sustainable Materials Science and Engineering: Supporting Rural Women from College to Career

PI: Peralta, Perry N.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA)
Amount Awarded: $94,878

Abstract: Materials are linked to human society s progress that our historical eras are named after the dominant material of the time. This demand for raw materials has grown explosively that we are now beyond the planet s carrying capacity. It is crucial to revise society s techno-economic approach to development, which strongly correlates with environmental degradation, and embrace the concept of sustainability, which balances the competing demands of the environmental, social, and economic sectors. NCSU’s Department of Forest Biomaterials has successfully instituted a STEM-based Sustainable Materials and Technology undergraduate program. Program faculty proposes to extend this success to K-14 students to prepare future workforce in the holistic discipline of sustainability. The grant will focus on minority women attending community colleges since historically they have been under-represented in the forest biomaterials field. The goal is to expand their opportunities for professional careers and educational equity in sustainable materials science and engineering. This will be accomplished by providing a multitiered support system at every phase of the student s postsecondary academic career — specifically through community support, academic mentorship, experiential learning, community research projects, professional development, and university scholarship/admission guidance. The project will enhance participants scientific and professional competencies, leadership and communication skills, professionalism, critical and problem-solving skills, and team-building ability. The project is based on accountability; project-component outcomes will be assessed using proven methodologies. The project goal and objectives are aligned with NIFA s Strategic Sub-Goal 1.7 and address WAMS Education Need Areas of Student Experiential Learning, and Student Recruitment, Retention, and Educational Equity.

Communicating Prescribed Fire Management through Virtual Public Engagement Strategies Post-COVID

PI: Vukomanovic, Jelena
Direct Sponsor Name: US National Park Service
Amount Awarded: $70,000

Abstract: The proposed project has three main goals. The first goal (1) is to provide innovative communication tools related to Region 1 s wildland and prescribed fire management role in the northeast US to the public. Areas of fire management include but are not limited to: implementation of prescribed fire, response during wildland fire, FAQs, pre-suppression activities, fire ecology, structure assessments, public engagement, fire science, overall fire management directive, and special topics such as veterans workforce, and women in fire management. The second goal (2) is to gain a better understanding of effective and inclusive communication platforms and strategies. This will allow us to make recommendations to improve effectiveness moving forward. The final goal (3) is to understand local community perceptions of fire risk and NPS role in fire management. Overall, the purpose of this project is to understand what communication platforms and strategies resonate with the public and to create those products for the Wildland Fire and Aviation Management Program of NPS in Interior Region 1.

Synthetic Natural Gas from Carbonaceous Wastes via Phase Transition CO2/O2 Sorbent Enhanced Chemical Looping Gasification

PI: Li, Fanxing
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)
Amount Awarded: $1,067,772

Abstract: This proposal aims to develop bi-functional oxygen and CO2 sorbents for chemical looping gasification of solids wastes with in-situ syngas conditioning. The novel material and gasification system will eliminate the needs for air separation and syngas conditioning/separation operations. The resulting syngas can readily be used for methane formation. A circulating fluidized bed gasification system and suitable bi-functional sorbents will be developed and demonstrated.

Land-Climate-Water Feedbacks and Farmer Decision-Making in an Agricultural System

PI: Sills, Erin O.
Direct Sponsor Name: University of Montana
Amount Awarded: $282,224

Abstract: The hydro-climatic system in the Amazon is affected by and affects land use in agricultural colonization settlements. We assess whether this is a reinforcing or balancing feedback loop operating through availability of green (soil moisture) and/or blue (surface water) water. Specifically, we test how spatio-temporal variation in green and blue water affects choices about farm production systems including land use intensity, and how the aggregation of those choices in turn affects the hydro-climatic system. We employ models that account for the effects of climate change on the hydro-climatic system, and for interactions among farmers and processors in the evolution of land use. We draw on panel data that allow us to model the dynamics of choices about production systems. Our two endpoints are the availability of green and blue water, and the welfare of farm households in the Amazon.

STC: Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center

PI: Jones, Jacob
Direct Sponsor Name: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Amount Awarded: $4,999,334

Abstract: The Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center is a convergence research hub for addressing the fundamental challenges associated with phosphorus sustainability. The vision of STEPS is to develop new scientific and technological solutions to regulating, recovering and reusing phosphorus that can readily be adopted by society through fundamental research conducted by a broad, highly interdisciplinary team. Key outcomes include new atomic-level knowledge of phosphorus interactions with engineered and natural materials, new understanding of phosphorus mobility at industrial, farm, and landscape scales, and prioritization of best management practices and strategies drawn from diverse stakeholder perspectives. Ultimately, STEPS will provide new scientific understanding, enabling new technologies, and transformative improvements in phosphorus sustainability.

Informing a Risk Assessment Research Strategy for Gene Drive Agricultural Applications through Interdisciplinary Dialogue and Exchange

PI: Barnhill, Sarah Kathleen
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA)
Amount Awarded: $25,000

Ecosystem Response to Traditional and Novel Upland Hardwood Regeneration Treatments

PI: Forrester, Jodi A.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $179,243

Abstract: Oaks (Quercus spp.) are a dominant component of the overstory in nearly 50% of the forested land base (~79 million ha) in the eastern United States (Johnson et al., 2002; Smith et al., 2009), but widespread oak regeneration failure throughout their natural range threatens the persistence of oak cover (Dey 2014). As a result, contemporary deciduous oak-hickory (Quercus-Carya) forests are shifting towards domination by red maple (Acer rubrum), yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), sugar maple (A. saccharum), or aspen (Populus spp.) (Abrams 1998, 2005, Nowacki and Abrams 2008, Dey 2014). These mesophytic species are more vulnerable to drought, fire, and insects with greater potential for reduced productivity and carbon storage capacity (Elliott et al. 2015, Roman et al. 2015, Klos et al. 2009). The increasing importance of more mesophytic and fire-sensitive species is linked to reduced water quantity and altered hydrology and nutrient availability through changes in stemflow, throughfall and litter quality (Alexander and Arthur 2010, Caldwell et al. 2016). This widespread conversion from dominance by oak to maple and other mesophytic species was caused by changes to the historical disturbance regime (Lorimer 1989, Runkle 1982, Rentch et al. 2003a, b). Prior to Euro- American settlement, mixed-oak forests were characterized by complex structure and diverse species composition, with high levels of heterogeneity at both the stand- and landscape-scales (Rentch et al. 2003a, b). Widespread resource extraction and other factors associated with Euro-American settlement (e.g., land clearing and subsequent land abandonment, wildfires, grazing, etc.), combined with pervasive clearcutting on public lands in the mid- to late 20th century, homogenized species composition (e.g., conversion of mixed-oak stands to pure yellow-poplar) and reduced structural complexity at all scales (Lorimer 1989, Runkle 1982, Rentch et al. 2003a, b). Mixed oak forests have high economic and ecological value. Declines in the amount of oak forests have significantly negative effects on water quantity and quality, nutrient cycling, and floral and faunal diversity. Sustainable management and restoration of oak ecosystems have become primary goals for many federal and state natural resource agencies and non-governmental conservation organizations (Dey 2014). Private landowners are also seeking novel approaches to manage for both high-quality timber and wildlife. Silvicultural recommendations for oak forests have advanced over the past decades. We propose to evaluate oak regeneration under traditional silvicultural systems and use these results to guide the design of an alternative expanding-gap approach; to initiate baseline sampling imperative in the long-term evaluation of the expanding-gap approach; and use stand- and landscape-scale simulations to test the degree to which a gap-based, silvicultural approach will increase: 1) oak regeneration, 2) structural complexity and species diversity; and 3) carbon sequestration and storage. This project will contribute to fundamental knowledge of the extensive, second-growth hardwood forests of the Southern Appalachians and will apply a new management practice to meet multiple goals of ecosystem function, biodiversity, and commodity production. Biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, and water yield need not be conflicting alternatives to timber production. Results from the proposed research will aid in developing management goals for greater structural, compositional and functional diversity in mature oak forests.

Studies of Fraser Fir Seed Chalcid Infestation

PI: Whetten, Ross W.
Direct Sponsor Name: NC Christmas Tree Association
Amount Awarded: $3,000

Abstract: The Christmas tree industry in North America is mainly supplied with Fraser fir seeds from natural stands and genetically improved material from clonal seed orchards (CSO). Trees derived from CSOs have better quality and more desirable marketable characteristics than trees that originate from seeds collected in natural stands. These attributes provide a considerable increase in income for Christmas tree plantation owners. Chalcidoidea (chalcid wasps) are a megadiverse group of seed feeders, and at least 49 species from the genus Megastigmus are associated with conifers. Previous work by our group –funded by the NC Christmas Tree Association– showed that chalcid wasps were the only insects present in infested seeds from a specific CSO, and that they had a significant impact on seed yields. Our preliminary results suggested that there may be genetic differences in chalcid infestation rates among clones in the CSO, and that these differences could affect the cost of planting stock for Christmas tree growers due to downstream impacts on the viability of seeds from the same clone during long-term storage. Additionally, we found a possible effect of pesticide treatment on chalcid infestation rates. This proposal seeks funding to determine clone-specific infestation rates before and after pesticide treatment to test these hypotheses and to identify candidate clones with reduced susceptibility. Ultimately, the proposed research will contribute basic and practical knowledge to improve seed quality and leverage chalcid development to control future infestations in other fir orchards in North Carolina.

Developing Integrated Geospatial Architectures to Support Enterprise Deployment of Geographic Information Systems Products at USDA

PI: Jones, Christopher Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS)
Amount Awarded: $200,000

Abstract: The primary purpose of this agreement is to cooperatively develop a framework to allow for integration of geospatial information systems as well as geospatial products into a Geospatial Hub hosted within an existing platform at USDA. All constituent parts of USDA (mission areas, agencies, services) have geospatial investments and use. There is a need for a platform to 1. communicate the impact of geospatial programs and 2. allow for data sharing within USDA and between USDA, academia, private sector, other Federal agencies, and the public.

Mutated-Modeling and Understanding Using Temporal Analysis of Transient Earth Data

PI: Gray, Joshua Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: Accenture
Amount Awarded: $255,730

Abstract: We propose to build a system producing near-realtime SMART datacubes for broad area search to identify candidate areas of change. The system can, then, isolate these areas of interest and create an enhanced SMART datacube around them â€“ maximizing spatial resolution and temporal completeness â€“ as needed. This architecture can be used for forensic analysis and change monitoring of current events with the possibility to tip-and-cue complementary future imagery products (e.g. through new tasking) to build such enhanced SMART datacube in operational settings. From this proposed research we envision an outcome that shall consist of a product that analyzes and screens over a broad area and is used to task and/or collect as much high resolution commercial imagery available or complementary imagery to do change detection, attribution and characterization (DAC) that can generate alerts for current events, as well as produce comprehensive forensic reports from completed activities or events. The broad area search will identify hotspots and will provide context on what data sources should be used to build the enhanced SMART datacube. We will conduct research to determine the optimal configuration of both near-realtime and enhanced SMART datacubes (e.g. optimal GSD for near-realtime and enhanced cubes, data sources to satisfy temporal requirements, number of spectral bands needed to detect change in large areas, etc.). Our data fusion framework shall support fusion of very diverse data sources (e.g. WorldView-1,2,3, Sentinel-2, Landsat, and other commercial providers) to conduct these experiments, as well as supporting consumption of new tasking.

Membership in Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), Associate Member

PI: Gonzalez, Ronalds Wilfredo
Direct Sponsor Name: Valmet North America
Amount Awarded: $20,000

Workforce and Skills Development for Enhancing Diversity and Multicultural Representation in USDA Forest Service-related Research Priority Areas

PI: Nelson, Stacy A.
Direct Sponsor Name: US Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $50,000

Abstract: This program aims to attract, recruit, retain, and successfully graduate highly-skilled, career-ready candidates to fill USDA Forest Service critical job series within the Southern Research Station (SRS), the Forest Service nation-wide, and/or complementary supporting agencies and industries. Researchers and the SRS will help ensure the development of these skills and their utmost importance to the agency by serving on each of the student s graduate research committees. This role is important as it helps to set research direction, provides mentorship and relationship-building with the students and faculty involved. Where possible, faculty from the students former HBCU/MSI institution will also be included as a part of the research guidance committee. Students will also meet with SRS leadership for further relationship development and exposure to the USDA Forest Service as an employer of choice.

Toward Improved Ecological Drought Indices for Forest Ecosystems Across the South

PI: Scheller, Robert
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $74,122

Abstract: We will build on prior efforts to develop a spatiotemporal statistical model for the 2011 Texas drought that relates forest conditions measured from FIA data to the SPEI or a similar drought measure. The model will account for trends in drought and mortality over time and space, as well as variations in drought effects based on forest species composition, drought tolerance of tree species, soil moisture, and other climatic, biophysical, and environmental correlates.

Research and Development in Geographic Information Systems for the National Park Service, Interior Region One

PI: Meentemeyer, Ross Kendall
Direct Sponsor Name: US National Park Service
Amount Awarded: $206,840

Abstract: The scope of work under this agreement will consist of three major functions: 1) GIS research, development and technical support for parks and programs of the Northeast Region of the NPS, 2) assistance with strategic and tactical planning for GIS implementation and 3) operational testing and deployment help with Enterprise GIS initiatives and designs. The Center for Geospatial Analytics at North Carolina State University has worked with the Northeast Region of the NPS for over 20 years in the development of GIS for park management. This activity has led to major advances in the planning and application of GIS technology in the NPS and has placed the Northeast Region among the leaders within the NPS in this regard.

Sowtime: Climate Adaptive Agriculture in the Eastern Gangetic Plains

PI: Gray, Joshua Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
Amount Awarded: $484,367

Abstract: Agricultural transformations have increased food production five-fold in South Asia, but that progress has not been realized in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EGP), a region spanning India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Meeting future food demand while coping with climate change will require substantial adaptation by EGP farmers. But we know little about the nature or outcomes of agricultural adaptations by EGP farmers, and even less about future possibilities. Our proposed research will answer the question: What is the adaptive potential of smallholder agriculture in the EGP? Our central hypotheses are: 1) Smallholder farmers have already adapted to a changing climate by planting earlier, adopting faster maturing varieties, and switching crop types. 2) These adaptive practices have mitigated the effect of climate change on crop yields. And, 3) additional transformations will further increase crop yields and resilience but socioeconomic barriers prevent widespread adoption. We will test these hypotheses by combining innovative remote sensing analyses, statistical and biophysical crop yield modeling, in-region field data collection, and causal analyses of fused household survey and remote sensing datasets. We will quantify contemporary cropping patterns and practices, and the extent and spatiotemporal variation of adaptive strategy adoption with remotely sensed assets and available ground and administrative data from regional partners. The effect of future climate change under various scenarios of agricultural adaptation will be quantified using climate projections and yield models. These analyses are integrated with a household survey and choice experiments that will reveal farmer s attitudes towards climate change, adaptive agricultural practices, and the barriers to further transformation. Our effort will produce annual cadence, finely resolved maps of crop types, including the characterization of multicropping rotations, the timing and duration of critical crop growth stages, and changes in these variables over the period 2001-present. No existing products map these variables at the scale of individual smallholder fields, and for the time period and temporal cadence necessary to evaluate the adaptive potential of the EGP. We will create these products using a newly developed approach to data fusion capable of assimilating a wide variety of heterogeneous satellite imagery, including newly available high resolution commercial assets. We will use phenology algorithms to extract the timing of growth stages, and emerging approaches to classification that use a Bayesian framework to assimilate existing heterogeneous crop type maps and ancillary data. Statistical and biophysical crop yield models will be fit, driven by historical weather and downscaled climate projections, and used to quantify the climate mitigating effects of adaptive practices. Our household surveys and analysis of map products will guide the design of realistic future scenarios of agricultural adaptation. By characterizing and quantifying the adaptive potential of smallholder agriculture in the EGP, our study will support decision makers, regional food and water security, efforts to alleviate rural poverty, and the adoption of feasible climate adaptive strategies. Our project will further develop and apply innovative remote sensing methodologies such as data fusion and classification approaches, and will thus be useful to the broader remote sensing science community. Additionally, because the goals of our project are well-aligned with those of several large initiatives like SARIN, CIMMYT, and GEOGLAM, we expect our results to find a broad audience with the means and impetus to ensure they support on-the-ground change, and ultimately, a more sustainable and resilient food future for the EGP.

AI-Enabled Hyperspectral Imaging Augmented with Multi-Sensory Information for Rapid/Real-time Analysis of Non-Recyclable Heterogeneous MSW for Conversion to Energy

PI: Pal, Lokendra
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Energy (DOE) – Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)
Amount Awarded: $0

Abstract: This project will focus on rapid/real-time analysis of domestic heterogeneous municipal biomass waste utilizing AI-Enabled Hyperspectral Imaging for developing conversion ready feedstock into cost effective and sustainable biofuel for selling price under $2.50 per gallon gasoline equivalent (GGE) by 2030. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is considered as an abundant potential source for biomass. This biomass, if used as a feedstock for fuel conversion operation will promote the sustainable fuel production and lower the prices. The heterogeneity of the MSW based on locations and time period can affect the biofuels or bioproducts. Therefore, the characterization of the MSW feedstock at macro and microlevel in terms of chemical and physical composition, at different speeds of conveyor system, at different times and collection sites will be studied.

A Multi-Scale Decision Support Tool to Quantify Forest Benefits on Water Quantity and Quality in the Southern United States

PI: Martin, Katherine Lee
Direct Sponsor Name: US Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $331,510

Abstract: Forests and water are inextricably linked, and people are dependent on forested lands to provide clean, reliable water supplies for drinking and to support local economies. As more than 90% of the forested land in the South is privately owned, water supplies in the region are at risk of degradation from continued fragmentation and conversion of forests to other land uses to support a growing population. Given the variety of threats to surface water, it will be increasingly important for forest managers to highlight the value of forests for maintaining clean and abundant supplies of drinking water in the region. A key component of maintaining this â€œgreen forest infrastructureâ€ is ensuring that healthy forests are maintained on the landscape and managed using science-based sustainable forest management practices. Our objectives are to: 1) Develop a multi-scale modeling approach that is capable of quantifying forest water quantity and quality indicators, 2) Develop and provide and economic valuation of forest water related ecosystem services, and 3) Develop a public-facing web application that links water resource values to forests and forest management options.

NC Sentinel Landscape Resource Programming

PI: Bardon, Robert E.
Direct Sponsor Name: Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit – Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast
Amount Awarded: $352,307

Abstract: This proposal allows for the North Carolina Sentinel Landscape Program Partnership (SLPP) to continue its effort to ensure that readiness, training viability, cost-effective policies, and the US Marine Corps mission are facilitated through sustained use of working lands and natural resources. The SLPP have been working for more than six years, providing for the programmatic institutionalization and enhancement of compatible natural resource use in support of military readiness and at the same time enhancing the maintenance and improvement of natural resources, including agriculture and forestry lands (i.e., working lands). The SLPP continues to collaborate onÂ a forward-looking, proactive program to sustain the landscape needed for a healthy economy, a healthy environment, a healthy military, and healthy communities in eastern North Carolina and beyond.Â The SLPP works in the public interest to advance national defense, conservation and working lands in North Carolina simultaneously to ensure that development or use of land, water, and/or air resources remains compatible with military missions. With around 90% of the land in North Carolina privately owned, the SLPP realizes that they cannot succeed unless it offers options and incentives thatÂ link the interests of the rural, private landowner with the national defense mission and conservation goals.Â The Partnership understands that landowners need and deserve to have additional economic opportunities for the good they do to advance society s long-term well-being by supporting national defense and conservation.Â

Shells to Sleeves (StS)

PI: Pal, Lokendra
Direct Sponsor Name: Wm Wrigley Jr. Company
Amount Awarded: $133,000

Abstract: This project aims to valorize agro-residues and industrial byproducts through mechanical and green chemical transformations into biobased biodegradable sleeves that will provide the desired protection for the fruit growth and slowly degrade during the harvest season. We will use shells and husks from various sources that will be pretreated and refined before processing. Various mechanical and mild chemical treatments will be used to synthesize the agro-fibers and biopolymers. The sleeve system will include microfibrillated cellulose derived from agro-fibers and functional additives and will be constructed using a solvent casting process followed by drying. Finally, the sleeves will be evaluated for air and water resistance, mechanical stability, composting, and UV stability in various simulated environments.

A tangible landscape framework to support spotted lanternfly program

PI: Meentemeyer, Ross Kendall
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS)
Amount Awarded: $80,000

Abstract: The primary purpose of this agreement is to enhance our understanding of SLF spread through natural and anthropogenic means and understand overall program effectiveness. In order to achieve this we will improve on our existing spread model by updating forecasts using new data, provide accuracy assessment and indications on areas where the model doesn t match the observed data, add extra functionality into the model to account for long distance dispersal along rail pathways, analysis areas with the largest risk of SLF natural spread, and perform analysis of overall program effectiveness. The primary obstacle of implementing a network model into our current model for railways is that SLF doesn t just move from A to B along a rail car like if it were to be loaded into the cargo bay of an airplane but eggs can be moved along this path from A to B and adults can hold on to rail cars and jump off along that pathway creating a more complex environment that requires a non-traditional network modeling approach.

Development of Recognizable Recycled Paper Based Containerboard Products and Their Ability to Promote Positive Brand Recognition

PI: Venditti, Richard A.
Direct Sponsor Name: Environmental Research & Education Foundation
Amount Awarded: $165,000

Abstract: Abstract: The overall goal of the project is to develop systems to effectively utilize low-grade paper wastes in innovative, recognizable containerboard and pulp molded products in order to increase and stabilize the demand for low-grade paper waste products. This project will also evaluate the marketing potential of these new products. We will first evaluate the product performance of using low-grade paper wastes in containerboard and pulp molded product applications. A series of recycled products with varying concentrations of visible contaminants will be evaluated. We will then perform a sustainability evaluation on the new products. This would include environmental and economic evaluations. This will be followed by the evaluation of the desirability of having such products from the perspective of companies that utilize these containers to ship their products. This will be done through interviews/surveys of retail companies. We then will define the marketing advantages of these container products with respect to the general public, understanding the public s level of preference for such containers and the ability of the container to develop strong positive brand identity with the public. This will be done through panel evaluations. We will then disseminate the results through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.

User Support and Science Delivery for the Southeast Conservation Blueprint and the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy

PI: Peterson, Nils
Direct Sponsor Name: US Fish & Wildlife Service
Amount Awarded: $249,673

Abstract: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is committed to landscape-scale conservation to accomplish its mission. The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) is a state-led collaborative initiative focused on sustaining thriving fish and wildlife populations in the Southeastern US and Caribbean. The SECAS vision of a connected network of lands and waters that supports thriving fish and wildlife populations and improved quality of life for people is in direct alignment with the vision and mission of the FWS. Since its inception in 2011, the SECAS initiative has achieved notable accomplishments including the Southeast Conservation Blueprint (Blueprint), a living spatial plan that efficiently and effectively guides conservation implementation across 15 states in the Southeast U.S and two territories in the Caribbean. In advancing its conservation vision, the FWS seeks to continue participation in the state-led SECAS initiative. Through improving the applicability and expanding the use of the Southeast Blueprint, FWS will advance and facilitate on-the-ground conservation action that will reduce the need to list species, integrate State Wildlife Action Plan priorities, support Gulf coast restoration, and reduce regulatory burdens. To support these actions, the FWS Southeast Science Applications program seeks to expand its capacity and provide funding through a cooperative agreement with the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) at North Carolina State University. Through this project, the CESU will provide a dedicated staff person to achieve the following: 1. Provide user support for application of, and improvement to, the Southeast Conservation Blueprint; 2. Ensure key external partners needs are reflected in the Southeast Conservation Blueprint and incorporated into the Blueprint revision cycle; 3. Work with the FWS Southeast Science Applications program to develop and deliver tools supporting at-risk species conservation by partners; 4. Serve as a liaison among FWS Science Applications, the USGS Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units, the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA), and SECAS to identify science information gaps, promote research efficiencies and leverage available resources; 5. Identify research projects that advance the needs of state fish and wildlife agencies and end users of the Southeast Blueprint; and 6. Provide project management for the Southeast Science Applications program ensuring it meets milestones and objectives that advance the collective conservation visions of FWS and SECAS.

WholeGarment® Knitting of Military Clothing with Bite Protection against Mosquitoes and Other Arthropods

PI: West, Andre J
Direct Sponsor Name: US Army
Amount Awarded: $864,630

Abstract: Vector-borne diseases have had a devastating impact on the readiness of combat troops. Due to their increased exposure through training and operations outdoors, deployed military personnel are often at greater risk of receiving arthropod bites than common populations. Presently, the military uses chemical treatments (primarily permethrin) to prevent exposure to vector-borne diseases. The chemical bonding on knitted fabric is not as successful as with wovens and under normal operational conditions, these measures often result in incomplete protection. Mosquito resistance to existing pyrethroid chemistries is problematic in some areas of military operations. In addition, military personnel are concerned that exposure to pyrethroid treatments have adverse effects on their health or that of their family members. Therefore, vector control and personal protection strategies are still of critical importance in ensuring the operational readiness of armed forces. There is an urgent need to develop an alternative effective bite-resistant system, which is more effective to insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and other arthropods, reducing the potential hazard for human health. This technology is also transferable to the private sector.Traditional domestic (Berry Act compliant) conventional knitting, cutting, and sewing of military garments are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and waste-producing processes. Production of wearable bite-resistant military clothing often takes as long as six weeks for the knitting/weaving of textiles and two to four more weeks for production of garments and potentially far longer in the private sector. The garment seams can be the weakest link in the garment construction, causing seam breakage or slippage thereby allowing an easier entry path for vector insects. Furthermore, a traditionally sewed garment with bulky seams often deforms when stretched and can cause skin abrasion. Structural instability as well as mechanical degradation of the seam areas will affect bite-protection capability of the garment prototypes, especially in the area of stretched shoulder seams. Achieving an accurate fit can also be difficult in a cut and sew process because garment sizes are averaged and not based on actual measurements which often produces garments with poor fit. Military personnel need garments that are more accurately sized, providing a comfortable fit for which WholeGarmentÂ® knitting is ideal. WholegarmentÂ® knitting machines directly produce an entire three-dimensional garment without sewing that allows for new design opportunities not available with traditional cut and sew methods. Conventional combat clothing developed by major consumer brands over the last few years lack the functionality the military needs (Figure 2). Current knitting design programming technology and WholegarmentÂ® machines are capable of rapid prototyping with multiple yarns and complex stitch patterns. The seamlessness of these knitted garments eliminate seams that can fail, chaff or bind, and reduce movement, thus offering comfort and fit that cannot be rendered in a cut and sew garment. Therefore, WholegarmentÂ® knitting technology offers opportunities to address the limitations of cut and sew garment production, reducing time to market, labor needs, material costs, and energy needs with lower production minimums at the same time making a more sustainable, longer lasting, higher quality product.

Rapid Resistance Phenotyping and Landscape Risk Prediction Modeling of Fusiform Rust Disease Incidence of Loblolly Pine

PI: Payn, Kitt Garnet
Direct Sponsor Name: University of Georgia
Amount Awarded: $4,000

Abstract: We will develop two tools for the selection and deployment of loblolly pine genotypes resistant to fusiform rust: 1) a tree level portable spectral sensing device for rapid resistance selection, and 2) a landscape level risk prediction model using machine learning to forecast susceptible areas to the disease in the Southeast in response to soil, climatic conditions, management regime and genetics

Urban and Community Forestry Economic Impact Analysis

PI: Parajuli, Rajan
Direct Sponsor Name: Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF)
Amount Awarded: $130,663

Abstract: Economic contribution analysis communicates the greater monetary benefits of the urban and community forestry sector in terms of contribution to gross domestic product, jobs, and labor income to policy makers and legislators. This project will involve conducting an economic contribution analysis of the urban and community forest industries in the Southern region (a 13-state region), and in 13 participating states. The specific objectives of the project are to: (1) facilitate discussion and consensus on scope of urban and community forest industries, methodology for analysis, and report template, (2) develop and distribute relevant survey questions in cooperation with the project team, (3) document the methodology and rationale for the selected approach in a written report, (4) analyze IMPLAN and other relevant datasets for the Region, and at the state level, (5) produce reports summarizing the findings for the Region, plus each individual participating state, totaling 14 reports, and (6) present the methodology, a mid-project progress report, and a final presentation of results. To accomplish the objectives, the College of Natural Resources North Carolina State University is teamed up with Ohio State University, Virginia Tech Univeristy, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, and Mississippi State University. Our multi-disciplinary team of urban forestry professionals, natural resource social scientists, and forest economists with extensive involvement in IMPLAN modeling and economic contribution analysis is capable of accomplishing this project in a timely and efficient manner.

Hosting the Southeast Climate Science Center

PI: Irwin, Rebecca
Direct Sponsor Name: US Geological Survey (USGS)
Amount Awarded: $4,500,000

Abstract: The guiding strategy of the Southeast Climate Science Center (SE CSC) is to provide staffing and institutional support for core SE CSC mission areas. The SE CSC’s mission involves supporting researchers and managers to co-produce science connected to management decisions (actionable science), coordinating logistics and communications to bring partners and the community together (within NCSU, with USGS researchers, and across the broader community) to discuss global change impacts to the DOI mission, and training the next generation (graduate students) and current managers on how to use and develop global change science.

RNA Integrity as a Powerful Metric of Aging in Preserved Seed Collections of Wild Rare Plant Species

PI: Jetton, Robert M
Direct Sponsor Name: Center For Plant Conservation (CPC)
Amount Awarded: $2,800

Abstract: The Center for Plant Conservation received a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for a project entitled, â€œRNA integrity as a powerful metric of aging in preserved seed collections of wild rare plant speciesâ€ (MG-245983-OMS-20). To satisfy grant commitments, CPC has the need for a subcontractor to collect a â€œfresh accessionâ€ of rare plant seed from the same wild population previously collected 15 years ago or more and subsequently preserved in orthodox seed storage. The older seed accession currently in orthodox storage will hereafter be known as the â€œoriginal accessionâ€. Contractor represents that they are able and willing to undertake this work. As the contractor, NC State University will make one â€œfreshâ€ seed collection from populations of Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) in western North Carolina. Fresh collections will either be made from the same population as the â€œoriginal accessionsâ€; from ex-situ plants of shared wild provenance; or from plants grown or bulked from seeds of a seed collection held in long term storage for 15 years or more â€“ known as the â€œoriginal accession.â€ The specific quantity of seed required for testing may vary depending on the size of seed and inclusion in the different experimental groups. Seed quantities for target species are the estimated quantity of seed needed to achieve 75mg of material plus 100 seeds for a germination trial. The bolded species will need multiple 75mg replicates from the freshly collected accession for inclusion in an advanced aging study.

Does chilling explain the divergent response of spring phenology to urban heat islands? (Xiaojie Gao)

PI: Gray, Joshua Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
Amount Awarded: $45,000

Abstract: Urbanization is known to have direct impacts on plant phenology. Understanding these effects is important to biodiversity dynamics, ecosystem structure, carbon cycles, and human health. Temperature increases from the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect are thought to be the main driver of plant phenological changes around cities. However, trends in plants start of growing season (SOS) dates around urban areas, compared to their surrounding countryside, have diverged across the globe: some advance, and some delay. Divergent SOS trends have been observed in field measurements as well as satellite remotely sensed terrestrial vegetation seasonalityâ€”land surface phenology (LSP). However, the reasons for this phenomenon remain unclear. We hypothesize that divergent SOS trends can be explained by the interaction between UHI-induced seasonal temperature changes and variable plant chilling requirementsâ€”the need of plants to be exposed to sufficiently low temperatures to release dormancy in spring. This project responds directly to NASA s Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems program questions: how do ecosystems, land cover and biogeochemical cycles respond to and affect global environmental change? And: What are the consequences of land cover and land-use change for human societies and the sustainability of ecosystems? Also, it is well-aligned with the broader NASA Earth Science Division goal of detecting and predicting changes in Earth s ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles, including land cover, biodiversity, and the global carbon cycle. Moreover, we expect this work will make contributions to the remote sensing, phenology, and global change science communities by providing: 1) an improved understanding of how temperature controls plant phenology in urban areas; 2) a long-term 30 m spatial resolution LSP dataset for large cities and its retrieving model, which can be generally applied to other urban or natural regions.

Does Chilling Explain the Divergent Response of Spring Phenology to Urban Heat Islands? (STUDENT: Xiaojie Gao)

PI: Gray, Joshua Michael
Direct Sponsor Name: National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
Amount Awarded: $0

Abstract: Plants phenological change is one of the direct consequences of urbanization, understanding this temporal shift is important to biodiversity dynamics, ecosystem structure, carbon cycle, and human health. Temperature increased by Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect is one of the main reasons that drives plant phenological change. However, divergent trends of plants Start-Of- Season (SOS) dates in the spring over urban areas across the globe have been documented. The reason of this phenomenon is unclear. Therefore, by hypothesizing that the chilling effect on plant phenology during the winter has the potential to explain the SOS divergent trends in the spring, this study proposes to use a long time series of moderate spatiotemporal resolution remote sensing imagery to investigate the impact of the winter chilling effect on urban plant spring phenology. By doing so, this study will contribute the science community by providing improved techniques for retrieving long time series phenological observations in moderate spatial resolution, and more importantly, providing a comprehensive view of UHI effect and an improved understanding of how temperature controls plant phenology, which is critical for estimating the future climate change.

Geographic Information System Research and Development for the Northeast Region of the National Park Service

PI: Meentemeyer, Ross Kendall
Direct Sponsor Name: US National Park Service
Amount Awarded: $526,438

Data Analysis and Visualization to Support FWS Service Species Status Assessments

PI: Dello, Kathie
Direct Sponsor Name: US Geological Survey (USGS)
Amount Awarded: $386,000

Abstract: Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) must evaluate the status of at-risk plants and animals in the US. A Species Status Assessment (SSA) is a scientific assessment prepared for each at-risk species to help inform a range of management decisions under the ESA. SSA s are currently needed for more than 350 species, including 250 in the Southeast alone. These species are affected by several factors including urbanization, loss of habitat, changes in streamflow and water quality, climate variability, and climate change. In partnership with scientists from the USFWS and US Geological Survey, this project will develop and test data products that will assist USFWS biologists to incorporate climate information into SSA s, including how the climate factors and thresholds that most affect species vary year-to-year, how they are expected to change in the future, and the uncertainties associated with those changes. This project will develop and test the efficacy of using a web-based collection of maps and data layers for interpreting climate vulnerability of wildlife and their habitats. Each map product will focus on the most relevant climate and ecology metrics that predict species viability for a location, and include explanatory and interpretive materials. Regular input from USFWS scientists will ensure the information is accessible, useful, and usable. The efficacy will be tested by implementing eye-tracking evaluations, surveys, and feedback sessions and iteratively applying these findings to the design and development of the tool. This web-based framework will help USFWS scientists in the Southeast US obtain, understand, and apply the climate information they need, thus enhancing the accuracy, quality, and scientific rigor of SSA s. This project will produce a web-based collection of regional maps of past and current climate conditions relevant to species biology and principal habitat, and a range of possible future outcomes from climate models. Technical documents and scientific manuscripts will be produced that communicate the results of user testing and information learned on how to design maps and environmental data visualization to better support SSA s.

Camcore Tree Genetic Diversity

PI: Jetton, Robert M
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
Amount Awarded: $80,000

Abstract: The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to conserve species of concern in RS with a focus on Table Mountain Pine and Pitch Pine to support the CCSA Tree Conservation Project with Camcore.

DOE-SBIR Phase II Lightweight and Thermally Insulating Nanowood

PI: Saloni, Daniel
Direct Sponsor Name: InventWood, LLC
Amount Awarded: $40,000

RCN-UBE: The Undergraduate Network for Increasing Diversity of Ecologists (UNIDE)

PI: Kellogg, Shaun B.
Direct Sponsor Name: Ohio State University
Amount Awarded: $21,621

Abstract: The Friday Institute Research and Evaluation Team will provide evaluation services for a proposed project entitled, The Undergraduate Network for Increasing Diversity of Ecologists (UNIDE) project. This research coordination network project aims to build a sustainable and interdisciplinary network of ecologists, educators and social scientists to address the need to address how cultural and social barriers impact human diversity in ecology and environmental disciplines (EE). The research network coordination project seeks to build cultural competence into ecology and environmental biology education.

Ethanol Fermentation Assessment

PI: Sagues, William Joseph
Direct Sponsor Name: Rayonier Operating Company, LLC formerly Rayonier
Amount Awarded: $23,187

Abstract: An ethanologenic, WT, non-GMO strain of yeast from Rayonier will be assessed for viability. If viable, cells will be propagated and cultured for further fermentation work. A multitude of culture tubes will be placed in a -80C freezer for preservation. A liquid sample from an existing pulp mill, termed â€œliquorâ€, will be characterized and assessed for biotoxicity. The soluble sugars in the liquor will be fermented to ethanol using RYAM s yeast strain. If needed, commercially available yeast, such as Ethanol Red, will also be used per RYAM s instruction. A series of process variables, as prescribed by RYAM, will be assessed to identify optimal parameters for ethanol productivity and yield.

Empowering Farmers by Diversifying Industrial Hemp to Bioproducts and Biochemicals

PI: Pal, Lokendra
Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA)
Amount Awarded: $649,257

Abstract: The overarching objective of this proposal is to systematically assess the potential of industrial hemp diversification in multi-scale bioproducts and biochemicals. We will assess several high-value uses, which are essential oils extraction and multi-scale lignocellulosic fibers, nanocellulose, coatings, and composites for bioproducts such as food packaging products.

Interdisciplinary Energy Data Analytics Ph.D. Fellows Program Phase II: Training the Next generation of Energy Data Scholars

PI: Vukomanovic, Jelena
Direct Sponsor Name: Duke University
Amount Awarded: $12,212

Abstract: This project will identify how energy poverty identification is affected by changing spatial scales of analysis in North Carolina. Research outcomes from this will research provide context for the identification of energy poverty in North Carolina. Specifically, they will provide context for community and government decision-makers to understand the impacts of spatial analysis. This work will be done in 2 parts. The first part be a multi-scalar spatial model that compares components of energy poverty indicators between four geographic scales to understand how these changes alter what main energy indicators present at these levels. The second part will combine actual energy use data and with indicators to characterize how the detection of energy poverty changes by the scale of analysis.

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Research Awards and Grants (January 2021-October 2021)

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