Research Awards and Grants (September 2025)

Each month, College of Natural Resources faculty members receive awards and grants from various federal, state and nongovernmental agencies in support of their research. This report recognizes the faculty members who received funding in September 2025.

Update of the Silvics of North America Manual

• PI: Cook, Rachel
• Prime Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
• Awarded Amount: $412,692 
• Abstract:  NCSU will provide critical technical and administrative support to the project including; 1) U.S. Coordinator (to work with coordinator counterparts in Mexico and Canada, the project lead, principle investigator, executive and core teams, chapter authors and reviewers, and others); and 2) Managing Editor (to work with coordinators, the project lead, principle investigator, executive and core teams, chapter authors and reviewers, and others) in the review and processing of SNA chapters. The USFS will work with NCSU to acknowledge and promote the contributions and leadership of the Principal Investigator and the College of Natural Resources to this keystone project.

Effects Of Household Concrete Floors On Child Health

• PI: Ercumen, Ayse
• Prime Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
• Amount Awarded: $95,613 
• Abstract: Enteric infections and diarrhea are responsible for a large burden of morbidity and mortality among children under five years and are associated with increased growth faltering, anemia, impaired child development, and mortality. The primary public health interventions to prevent enteric infections are household water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions. However, recent WASH intervention trials found only modest impacts on enteric infection prevalence in children. Observational studies have found that children in households with concrete floors have lower prevalence of diarrhea, soil-transmitted helminth infection, and Giardia infection than those in households with soil floors. However, these findings may be strongly confounded by household wealth. We propose a randomized trial in rural Bangladesh to measure whether installing concrete floors in households with soil floors reduces child enteric infection. We will randomize 800 eligible households with pregnant women and install concrete floors before index children are born. We will collect follow-up measurements when children are ages 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Our team is comprised of experts in environmental and infectious disease epidemiology, including Bangladeshi scientists. We have extensive experience implementing large-scale health intervention trials in Bangladesh and other low resource settings. Aim 1 is to determine the effect of household concrete floors on child enteric illness in households. The primary endpoint is Ascaris lumbricoides prevalence at any follow-up measurement. Secondary endpoints include prevalence of other soil-transmitted helminths, Giardia duodenalis and diarrhea. Aim 2 is to measure effects of household concrete floors on household fecal contamination over time. In a subset, we will detect molecular markers of enteric bacteria (N=200) and parasites (N=800) in floors, child hands, and sentinel toy samples. Aim 3 is to assess whether household concrete floors reduce child soil contact and ingestion. We will conduct video observations in a subsample (N=60) to estimate the frequency of child activities inside vs. outside the home each day. This trial will determine whether concrete floors reduce enteric infection, and further determine how concrete floors reduce enteric infection or if they do not, why. Our findings will provide rigorous, policy-relevant evidence about whether concrete flooring installation should be delivered as a public health intervention to reduce child enteric infection. More broadly, this study marks a paradigm shift in intervention design for improving child health by expanding its scope to include housing improvements.

Assessing Risks to Timber Regeneration due to Post-Hurricane Helene Invasive Plant Establishment and Spread

• PI: Forrester, Jodi
• Prime Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
• Awarded Amount: $750,000 
• Abstract: The primary purpose of this agreement is to assess the potential impacts of storm disturbances on the establishment and spread of invasive plants in the Southern Appalachians (especially North Carolina) and to provide relevant management recommendations to the National Forests and State Forests in North Carolina (as well as other interested land owners).

AmeriFlux Management Project Core Site – North Carolina Loblolly/Alligator

• PI: King, John
• Prime Sponsor: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 
• Awarded Amount: $121,051 
• 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. 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.

Active Forest Management to Increase Productivity, Decrease Wildfire Risk, and Enhance Watershed Yield in Support of Rural Communities of the Southeastern U.S.

• PI: King, John
• Prime Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
• Amount Awarded: $80,000 
• Abstract: This study will evaluate the effectiveness of active forest management, including prescribed burning and strategic timber harvesting, to increase productivity and economic value, while decreasing the risk of catastrophic wildland fires across the southeastern U.S.  By carefully regulating forest understory vegetation, site resources (soil nutrients, space/light and soil water) will be reallocated to overstory crop trees and total ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET) will be decreased, which will have the effect of simultaneously increasing crop tree productivity while decreasing flammable fuel loads.  This active forest management will enhance forest resilience not only by decreasing the frequency and severity of wildfires, but also by increasing the amount of soil water available to crop trees during dry periods and droughts.  An ancillary benefit will be the redirection of a fraction of the annual water cycle away from ET towards soil water recharge and runoff, increasing watershed yields (e.g. the amount of water left over for aquatic ecosystems and human use). The research framework will utilize gauged watersheds equipped with eddy covariance flux towers that enable precise quantification and partitioning of hydrological responses, combined with robust forest inventory and allometric biomass estimation methods to generate the data needed to guide the management of healthy, resilient forest ecosystems. These efforts aim to support more effective fuels treatment, promote ecological integrity, and improve both sustainable timber production/economic value and water supply over time.

From Disaster to Renewal: Transforming Wood Biomass into Biochar for Sustainable Solutions in Rural and Hurricane-Impacted Western North Carolina

• PI: Laleicke, Frederik
• Prime Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
• Awarded Amount: $220,928 
• Abstract: We will work with industry partners to demonstrate the production of biochar from storm debris. The team will also focus on different uses for biochar, such as soil amendment and water purification.

Forest Health Monitoring and Assessment

• PI: Pandit, Karun
• Prime Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
• Awarded Amount: $330,000 
• Abstract: The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program is a long-term, national research and monitoring 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 includes an annual technical report that provides analysis and synthesis of technical information at the national level, and other special 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 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 annual national reporting and research efforts. This will include performing and coordinating data analysis, technical writing, and editing for FHM annual forest health data report and contributions to other reporting and research efforts. The project will also provide support to the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program in documentation development.

A Comprehensive Evaluation of Economic Impacts of Hurricanes on the Southern Forest Sector: A Case Study of Hurricane Helene

• PI: Parajuli, Rajan
• Prime Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
• Awarded Amount: $179,084 
• Abstract: Hurricanes can have devastating impacts to timberlands and local communities; however, damage assessments following major hurricanes and tropical storm systems have generally focused on immediate economic impacts to discrete industries (e.g., timber, infrastructure, construction). Hurricanes can also stimulate some economic industries following immediate disruptions as post-hurricane recovery and rebuilding efforts generate several economic activities in the region such as reconstruction of damaged buildings and infrastructure (Baade et al., 2007) as well as activities associated with the retail and hospitality sectors (Peri et al., 2024). In response to the increased frequency of devastating hurricanes and tropical storm systems, there has been a surge in research and innovative tools in recent years that attempt to forecast and estimate potential impacts. Currently, less is known about the comprehensive effects from simultaneous and sequential impacts, which are connected across industries within the southern regional economy.

NSF R2I2: Co-Developing Mountains-to-Coast Climate Solutions through Integrated Science and Practice

• PI: Sanchez, Georgina
• Prime Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Awarded Amount: $500,000 
• Abstract: While geoscientists lead in understanding and predicting climate impacts, their knowledge often holds limited value for on-the-ground implementation when practitioners struggle to connect it to their specific challenges or lack clear pathways from science to actionable solutions (i.e., policy and operations). This disconnect is largely due to the scarcity of platforms that effectively integrate diverse expertise and operational perspectives. The ultimate goal of our Southeast R2I2 is twofold: i) to leverage gamification (Phase 1) to bridge the gap between science and practice, centering collaboration to co-create implementable solutions for addressing the compounding climate challenges impacting communities across the Southeast U.S.; and ii) to co-develop advanced analytics (Phase 2) that can react in real-time to the selection of type and location of different site interventions, providing dynamic forecasting of simulated outcomes.

Toward Improved Ecological Drought Indices for Forest Ecosystems Across the South

• PI: Scheller, Robert
• Prime Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
• Awarded Amount: $49,678 
• 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.

Geospatial Analysis of Disaster Impacts on Rural Economies and Communities

• PI: Vukomanovic, Jelena
• Prime Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
• Awarded Amount: $467,918 
• Abstract: For fiscal year 2025, The United States Congress allocated funds for Forest and Rangeland Research for expenses related to wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters that affected local communities and economies across the Southern and Western U.S. Timely and relevant tools are needed to assess the area of impact before, during, and after destructive natural disasters. This proposed collaboration between the Southern Research Station Center for Economic and Social Science and North Carolina State Center for Geospatial Analytics will provide actionable tools and data for local decision-makers to provide needed aid to communities as they rebuild from recent disasters. This collaboration will also support research objectives aimed at improving preparedness for future events by better understanding which areas are most at risk and informing the anticipated costs of recovery.

Cultural Landscapes Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments at Mid-Atlantic Battlefield Park Units (CESU)

• PI: Vukomanovic, Jelena
• Prime Sponsor: U.S. Department of the Interior
• Awarded Amount: $600,000 

Abstract: This project supports vulnerability assessment and climate adaptation planning for cultural landscapes for mid-Atlantic battlefield parks. It will develop methods for cultural landscape climate change vulnerability assessments (CCVA) that address the needs of multiple parks covering a similar mid-Atlantic geography, with similar climate stressors and exposures. Products include CCVAs for two pilot parks; a landscape scale CCVA for mid-Atlantic parks and methods guidance; a visualization tool and operational manual to maintain the tool; presentations to the park and public. Project beneficiaries include park resource managers, surrounding mid-Atlantic communities, citizens of Tribal Nations with ancestral ties to park units, academic researchers in cultural heritage adaptation, and current and future park visitors.