Trees

Ferguson honored for service to Horticultural Society

Louise Ferguson has been recognized by the American Society of Horticultural Science for her leadership and contributions. The professor of UC Cooperative Extension assumed the presidency during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she nurtured the organization through its first all-virtual annual conference, a subsequent hybrid conference and back to a fully in-person conference.

UC Davis Plant Sciences Joins the Center for Bioenergy Innovation as a Full Partner

The Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, has become a full partner with the Center for Bioenergy Innovation, led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. CBI is one of four Biological and Environmental Research Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, with a mission to advance the use of biomass for biofuel and bioproduct development as part of the emerging bioeconomy.

Wildfire Perceptions Largely Positive After Hiking in a Burned Landscape

When hikers returned to UC Davis Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve in 2016, a year after the Wragg wildfire, many expected to see a devastated landscape. They did, but many were also energized about the new changes they saw. Allie Weill, then a graduate student with Professor Andrew Latimer, Plant Sciences, published a paper on this.

Happy Holidays from Plant Sciences, UC Davis

Happy holidays to our Plant Sciences faculty, staff, students, alumni, and to all of our partners and friends who work with us on pressing issues in plant and environmental sciences. Enjoy this stunning photo of giant sequoias by Zane Moore, a Ph.D. student in our department, who works with Professor David Neale. Neale’s lab is sequencing the giant sequoia.

Kester, a Productive Late Bloom Almond Variety from University of California, Davis

Kester almond was developed at the University of California, Davis, Almond Breeding Program with support from the Almond Board of California. The program was developed to breed new varieties and germplasm to meet the emerging needs of the expanding California almond industry. Professor Tom Gradziel in Plant Sciences, has conducted much of the research.

Becoming Arizona: Sacramento’s Urban Heat Island Divide

Urban heat islands are areas with few trees, little shade and an environment that releases heat into the air. Trees make cities more livable as temperatures rise with climate change. Heat islands can coincide with impoverished areas and human health problems. Mary Cadenasso, Plant Sciences professor, researches heat islands.

Plant Diversity a Casualty of High-Severity Wildfires

Sierra Nevada forests are losing plant diversity due to high-severity fires, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. These fires are turning patches of forest into shrub fields — indefinitely, in some cases.