Undoubtedly, water is the most important product from forests. This is especially significant since California is now in the third year of drought. Voluntary reductions in water use are being considered and rising temperatures will increase demand. About 60% of the state’s water comes from forested watersheds – mostly public…
Read More
Wildfires in California forest lands are increasing in occurrence and intensity. Effects such as smoke inhalation, loss of life, and property damage are becoming intolerable. Whole towns are being destroyed. Suppression costs are astronomical is size. Restoration needs are overwhelming. Consequently, wildfire issues have become the dominant drivers of both…
Read More
Timber has been critically important for the development of civilizations for thousands of years. The Bronze Age, Iron Age, glass manufacture, shipbuilding railroads, and housing have literally depended on wood. (Interestingly, a single ‘ship of the line’ in the days of the Spanish Armada in 1588 required 2,000 – 6,000…
Read More
Wood is an amazing material that is naturally produced through photosynthesis from the sun’s energy, water, and nutrients. It is biodegradable, renewable, and stores carbon for the life of the product. But what is wood? Wood is a natural composite of cellulose fibers and lignin, which is an organic polymer…
Read More
California’s giant sequoias are being destroyed by our wildfires. Scientists are resorting to extraordinary methods to save them SPRINGVILLE, Tulare County — Dust kicked up from a fire-scarred forest floor as a dozen men shouldered bags of bright green seedlings they hoped would give rise to the largest trees in…
Read More
The field of forestry is wonderfully diverse and challenging due to the diversity and complexity of forests (See Topic 1). Managing forests requires highly-trained people with diverse knowledge and skills in such fields as ecology, economics, hydrology, soils, engineering, computer science, fire, wildlife, administration, and policy development. Forestry is a…
Read More
California’s forests are unique and very diverse due to diverse topography and soils – both resulting from the uplift of the Sierra Nevada now thought to have occurred about 40 million years ago*. In fact, California has been designated as a World Biodiversity Hotspot due to 60% of its flora…
Read More
