media mentions

Jun 8, 2023

The Wildfire Smoke Plume You’re Smelling Could Break Up, But Another Is Coming To NC

The News & Observer
Wildfires are inextricably linked to the surrounding climate, according to Robert Scheller, a professor of landscape ecology and the associate dean of research at NC State's College of Natural Resources. They happen because a forest dried out over weeks or months, creating the fuel that a fire needs to burn once it is sparked.

Jun 7, 2023

As Canada Burns, Smoke Makes US Air Unhealthy and Skies Eerie. Is Climate Change to Blame?

USA Today
"We're seeing events that are unknown in the historical record," said Robert Scheller, a professor of forestry at North Carolina State University. "It's hard to talk about without painting a grim picture."

Jun 3, 2023

Addressing Expanding Concerns Over Forest Carbon Credits Key To Mitigation Success

CIFOR Forest News
Erin Sills, a senior associate with CIFOR-ICRAF, who is also with North Carolina State University, noted that impact evaluation and accounting systems for carbon credits serve different purposes. However, she added, findings and methods from impact evaluation should be used to design accounting systems that “maximize the incentives to maximize reductions in deforestation.”

May 31, 2023

Out of the Frying Pan, Onto the Farm

Sierra Magazine
When coyotes and bobcats want to avoid large carnivores, they often head toward human settlement, where they end up dead three times more often than mesopredators who stick to the wilderness, according to a new study published in Science. The increased deaths might not be impacting the populations of those animals, said Roland Kays, an ecologist at NC State University.

May 29, 2023

Antarctica Cruises Are More Popular Than Ever. Experts Say They Need More Regulations

NPR
NC State professor Yu-Fai Leung says some penguin colonies seem resilient and aren't greatly disturbed by tourist groups, but his research shows, when penguins are nesting, chicks are vulnerable to predators and the elements, and visitors can be a dangerous distraction.

May 25, 2023

Triad’s Wildfire Risk Rising Fastest in Eastern US, Report Says

Winston-Salem Journal
The fire risk for the state’s residents is expanding along with the population because there is little control over where people go, explained Robert Scheller, a professor of landscape ecology at NC State University who researches climate adaption in forestry.

May 22, 2023

Agricultural Experts Warn of Spotted Lanternflies

WITN
“This is an insect that people love to hate,” said Kelly Oten, an assistant professor and extension specialist at NC State.

May 8, 2023

Can Asheville Learn To Live With Bears?

The Assembly
Bear encounters in Asheville, from a few hundred in the early aughts to more than 1,500 these past few years, have become so commonplace as to seem “a bit like a bear safari,” joked Jennifer Strules, a Ph.D. student at NC State studying the city’s urban bear population.

May 4, 2023

Studying Fundamentals of Water as a Solvent Could Lead to Greener Products

Lab Manager
Water isn’t just a universal solvent that remains unaffected by its interactions. New publications from NC State show that water can change its solubility characteristics depending upon what it interacts with.

May 1, 2023

Examining the Nuances of the Forest-Water Connection

U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station News
Over the coming decades, many forested watersheds could be lost to development, lowering water quality and raising water treatment costs, according to a new study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.