Globalization and other human activities such as domestication can influence population structure of the earth’s flora and fauna, having broad implications for biodiversity. For example, Cannabis sativa (a.k.a. hemp/marijuana) has been used by humans for diverse purposes including medicine, spirituality, entertainment, and as a source of fiber for thousands of years. Because of its broad utility, this plant has been subject to extensive cultivation, artificial selection, and global trade. As a result, the origins and historical patterns of genetic diversity of marijuana ...
From VT News
When most Americans think of New Zealand, images of sprawling fantasy landscapes may come to mind; however for Brian Strahm, associate professor of forest soils and biogeochemistry in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, it’s all about trees.
Strahm was named a Research Fellow of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development through its Co-operative Research Program for Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agriculture Systems. The organization is an international body of 35 countries designed to ...
From CNN
More than 16,000 scientists from 184 countries have published a second warning to humanity advising that we need to change our wicked ways to help the planet.
In 1992, 1,700 independent scientists signed the “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity.” The letter warned that “human beings and the natural world are on a collision course” and if environmental damage was not stopped, our future was at risk.
That letter made headlines 25 years ago, but the world still faces ...
October 23, 2017 | Graduate students taking the Interfaces of Global Change capstone class this fall recently attended a Congressional Operations Seminar offered by the Woods Institute in Washington, DC. The objective of the seminar was to provide the participants with a comprehensive understanding of the congressional legislative and budget processes, with an emphasis on issues relevant to the environment and natural resources. For students considering a career in the public policy arena, or just generally concerned with how science ...
For a while it looked as if the world might be turning the corner.
But after a three-year stall in their growth, human-caused carbon-dioxide emissions have not, in fact, peaked, an international team of scientists announced this morning.
In 2017, global emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels and industry will once again rise by 2 percent, the scientists project, to a record 37 billion metric tons. Those emissions had increased by only ...
Dr. Brian Strahm is offering a new, broad-based soils course for those that have had little exposure to the belowground world. If you are interested in…
• terrestrial ecosystem ecology/biogeochemistry
• plant productivity
• water quality/quantity
• global and/or land use change
…but have never had soils…this class is designed for you!
The course will introduce foundational concepts in soil physics, chemistry, biology/ecology, sampling and analysis, genesis and classification, nutrient cycling, and organic matter dynamics. The course is intended to improve ...
The Global Change Center (GCC) offers competitive fellowships to undergraduate students to cover the cost of tuition (in-state, 6 credits), housing and fees to attend the Washington Semester Program during summer semester. This program offers a unique 11-week immersion into work experience within the nation’s capital. Students work on challenging science policy issues that shape communities locally and nationally while obtaining academic credit.
The School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) at Virginia Tech offers the Washington Semester program to all undergraduate students, regardless ...
From VT News:
Evolution can be both stimulated and halted by an animal’s behavior, it just depends which trait you’re talking about, according to a groundbreaking study led by a Virginia Tech researcher.
The study, published Oct. 25 in the journal American Naturalist, shows behavior can be both a brake and a motor for evolution in a manner where slowing evolution in one trait actually requires accelerating evolution in another, according to Martha Muñoz, a new assistant professor of biological ...
