Research Awards and Grants (October 2024)

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 in October 2024.

Camcore Forest Conservation

• PI: Jetton, Robert
• Direct Sponsor Name: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
• Awarded Amount: $77,000 
• Abstract:  The purpose of this agreement is to document the cooperation between the Camcore program in NC State University Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources and the USDA Forest Service to support the genetic resource conservation of threatened, endangered and at-risk tree species and populations in the United States and its territories. This agreement will support NC State/Camcore objectives to identify new imperiled tree species and populations; collect and share genetic material from these trees for conservation; establish and maintain conservation orchards; and develop tools that inform on the management of tree species genetics, cultivation, and propagation.  Seed and scion collections, orchards, and tools, will be used in restoration and research efforts on the National Forests.

Refinement and expansion of a Volunteer Wetland Monitoring Program across the Carolinas

• PI: Cooper, Caren
• Direct Sponsor Name: US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Awarded Amount: $280,587 
• Abstract:  As regulations protecting wetlands change, sustaining wetlands will rely more heavily on volunteer efforts. The Carolina Wetlands Association has initiated a volunteer wetland monitoring program, which involves moderately sophisticated protocols for data collection. We propose a tiered volunteer monitoring program to scaffold engagement, with broad engagement via Picture Post citizen science, and deeper engagement guided through a student ambassador program.

Cost And Climate Change Impacts Of Waste Valorization Pathways For Decarbonizing The U.S. Municipal Solid Waste Systems

• PI: Lan, Kai
• Direct Sponsor Name: Environmental Research and Education Foundation
• Amount Awarded: $34,061 
• Abstract: The urgent need to address increasing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and environmental challenges associated with the U.S. municipal solid waste (MSW) industries requires a holistic approach. Previous life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) studies on MSW valorization have focused on process-level individual systems without considering broader MSW markets, policies, and industrial decision-making that are critical to a circular economy. This project aims to fill this gap by developing forward-looking, policy-relevant, and market-driven integrated systems analysis models for the U.S. MSW management systems focusing on energy vaporization and material circularization.

Hofmann Forest Water Farming Demonstration and Research Project

• PI: Ardon, Marcelo
• Direct Sponsor Name: North Carolina Land and Water Fund
• Awarded Amount: $107,600 
• Abstract: We propose to construct and monitor a demonstration water farming system on 28.8 acres of active loblolly pine plantation at the Hofmann Forest. This area covers the headwaters of the New River. Hofmann Forest is located upstream of the city of Jacksonville, which has experienced flooding damages in recent years. Low berms (two feet in height) will be constructed around the perimeter of the pine plantation in order to provide temporary water storage after rainfall events. A flume with water level control will be constructed at the outlet of the plantation in order to facilitate the slow release of water after rainfall events. The outlet structure will allow for approximately one foot of ponding depth on the field after storm events. By holding the water on the land, this project will minimize peak discharges to downstream communities after rainfall events. Both the quantity and quality of water leaving the field through the flume will be monitored during multiple storm events. In addition, tree productivity

Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Biomass for Value-added Products Consortium (MASBio)

• PI: Wang, Jingxin
• Direct Sponsor Name: USDA – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
• Amount Awarded: $820,690 
• Abstract: Dr. Jingxin Wang will carry out activities for Task 3, environmental and economic assessments with the support of # of Post-Doctoral Research Associates and Graduate Research Assistants. Specific work tasks and activities will include the following:
  Develop cost-effective transportational drying and processing approaches for forest residues. Configure and optimize multi-feedstock supply chains that reduce risk and meet procurement requirements for continuous demand by industrial users
  Develop and validate biomass pathway for biochemicals and bio adhesives
  Further develop biomass derived carbon products

US-UK Collab: Long-Distance Dispersal and Disease Spread Under Increased Ecological Complexity

• PI: Jones, Chris
• Direct Sponsor Name: USDA – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
• Awarded Amount: $245,591 
• Abstract: Epidemic invasions have substantial impacts on both ecosystem function and human welfare (1,16,31,67,91), and may become more frequent owing to globalization (116). Understanding the establishment and spread of such diseases can contribute significantly to identifying appropriate disease control strategies (35,96,115). Pathogens demonstrating long-distance dispersal (LDD) are of particular concern, owing to their potential to rapidly spread over large spatial scales. This includes pathogens with propagules that have the potential for long-distance transport through air, such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) (60), West Nile Virus (90), avian influenza (62), white-nose syndrome of bats (4) and many diseases of plants (8), through water, such as Aspergillosis of coral (134), and perhaps also pathogens spread through human transport systems, such as influenza (66) and Ebola virus (40). Bird migration can result in fat-tailed, LDD dispersal patterns, with dispersal over hundreds or thousands of kilometers (95,130).

AmeriFlux Management Project Core Site – North Carolina Loblolly/Alligator

• PI: King, John
• Direct Sponsor Name: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – University of California – Berkeley
• Awarded Amount: $130,044 

Abstract: A cluster of research sites will be maintained according to the Ameriflux Management Program 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.