Natural Resources

Improving Soil Health in Diversified Agroforestry and Silvopasture Systems of NE Washington

Soil health in agroforestry systems is largely lacking in the literature and a great need for data-driven practices has been expressed throughout NE Washington by local foresters, landowners, and tribal units. Forested systems exhibit vastly differing soil biota and response to land management compared with established treatments for soil health improvement in other agroecosystems. Therefore, […]

Technical transfer of cloud-based environmental monitoring (CBEM)

Sustainable agriculture in Washington State drives to be economically viable while being environmentally responsible through improvements made to both on- and off-farm practices. Effective and efficient monitoring programs are an essential piece of policy implementation and adaptive management for sustainability. In our previous BioAg research, we hypothesized that remotely sensed data are underutilized in these […]

Direct observation of sediment and carbon connectivity: evaluating degradation pathways, conservation implementation and true cost accounting

Soil erosion is the first order measure of agricultural soil sustainability. Clear economic incentives and accounting of public and private true cost are needed to identify pathways from conventional to transformational, biologically intensive management. Erosion occurs disproportionately from critical source areas, but the spatial distribution and temporal variability in erosion mechanisms are not well characterized. […]

Evaluating Commercial Specialty Mushroom Production Feasibility for Diversified Farms and Small Woodland Owners in Western WA

Forest-grown specialty mushroom production may be an economical, low-impact, ecologically-appropriate enterprise for diversified farms and small woodland owners in western WA and the greater western Pacific Northwest (PNW). Nonetheless, to date, there has been little Extension research, publications, or formalized programs in the PNW on this subject as a commercial enterprise. In contrast, several northeastern […]

Development of multi-scale remote sensing methodologies to classify and monitor riparian vegetation structure and composition to improve agricultural sustainability

Sustainable agriculture in Washington State (WA) pushes to be economically viable while being environmentally responsible through improvements made to both on- and off-farm practices. Riparian (streamside) conservation measures are a primary off-farm field strategy to protect and enhance ecosystem functions and values, such as improving water quality and creating wildlife habitat. Two significant state administered […]

High-throughput screening of forage crops for environmentally sustainable crop production

Improving the sustainability of agriculture requires a wide range of research from the basic to the applied, from molecular to whole organism, and from field to system level. In-field studies are irreplaceable for gaining knowledge of best practices, varieties, rotations, crop mixtures, and other factors that will make real differences in agricultural productivity and environmental […]

Tallgrass Prairie in Central Washington: Establishing Warm-Season Perennial Grasses on Irrigated Pasture

Warm-season perennial grasses (WSG) native to the American tallgrass prairie have tremendous production potential under irrigation. Central Washington irrigated pastures occupied by cool-season grasses exhibit dramatically slower growth during meteorological summer. Grazing land is a scarce resource in Washington State for which there is high demand. Further, many ranchers’ business growth is limited by unavailability […]