Penn State Ecosystem Science and Management

08/17/2026

🍂 Save the Date! 🍂

Join the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management for our Fall 2026 Welcome Event!

📅 September 3, 2026
⏰ 4:30–7:00 PM
📍 Forest Resources Building & Lawn

Meet fellow students, faculty, and staff while enjoying food, games, and great conversation as we kick off the new semester together.

We can't wait to welcome you! 🌿

08/11/2026

In honor of the 36 years since the start of the Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program, longtime forest steward and supporter Nancy Baker has generously offered to match donations to the Finley Center with up to $36,000 between now and September 20! Will you help us unlock her gift? We’ve already reached our first goal of 24 donors to unlock the first $14K!! 🎉

The next $12K is unlocked when we reach 48 DONORS. Any gift, no matter the size, will help empower woodland owners to care well for their woods, strengthen the Pennsylvania Forest Stewards volunteer network, support new research resources and outreach, and improve the trajectory of woodland care and management.

Make a gift now to help us get to our next goal of 48 donors! ➡️ https://give.psu.edu/36k-challenge-for-forest-stewardship/

And share with family or friends to help us keep the momentum going! 🙌

08/11/2026

07/31/2026

Scientists have long wondered whether loud, human-caused noise interferes with wild animals’ cognition — their ability to think and learn — by causing stress, distraction or making it harder for them to focus. The results of a novel study of Eastern bluebirds conducted by a team of researchers...

07/31/2026

Composed of cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, algae, fungi and bacteria, biocrusts play major roles in storing carbon, cycling nitrogen, preventing erosion and supporting ecosystems on Earth's surface. To better understand the status of these complex biological communities, a team led by researchers a...

06/24/2026

The North American Forest Genetics Society meets biannually in the US, Mexico, and Canada, and Penn State is represented at the Canadian meeting this year.
Jill Hamilton was a keynote speaker, and in addition to Muqing and Kyra, recently graduated undergraduates Kingston Gearheart and Kay Henninger, along with PhD student (Plant Biology) Diego del Orbe Matos and PhD student (Ecology) Mary McCafferty, all attended.
Kyra presented on her dissertation research on black ash (also photographed discussing with Eric Dussault from the Canadian Forest Service at the black ash common garden variation in phenotypes from the Pennsylvania, New York, and Quebec common garden experiments).
Students also had the opportunity to visit a Quebec Sugar Shack where maple syrup is produced, and a diversity of field trips (also photographed Muqing Liu hugging a beautiful ash tree at the Sugar Shack).

06/22/2026

At the recent 2026 Pennsylvania FFA Association State Convention, Brent Harding, Penn State Director of Forestland, was conferred with an Honorary State FFA Degree during the second session of the convention. For many years, Brent and the Penn State Forestland Management Office have facilitated the Pennsylvania FFA Forestry Career Development Events.

Photo credit: Pennsylvania FFA Foundation

06/12/2026

https://www.facebook.com/reel/980632294960810

06/08/2026

Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence: Honoring a Distinguished Professor's Half-Century of Service!

Sridhar Komarneni, Penn State distinguished professor of clay mineralogy, marked 50 years with the College of Agricultural Sciences March 1. He came to the University in 1976 in a career move he said he has never regretted.

06/05/2026

Paul and Jane Miller, through a six-figure pledge, have created the Paul and Jane Miller Undergraduate Research Fund in the College of Agricultural Sciences' Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. With the goal of seeing their philanthropy in action, the Millers have also committed to a fiv...