A gardening columnist turns to Bethany Bradley, environmental conservation, for insights on invasive species. Bradley explains that there is often a lag between when a plant species is introduced into a new home and when it begins to behave invasively.
News from the Media
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The Imported Kousa Dogwood Was Once Hailed as Substitute for Dying Native Dogwood Trees. Now It's Considered an Invasive Species
September 14, 2023 -
Earth Matters: Can We Adapt to Increasing Intensity of Rain Events?
September 14, 2023Christine Hatch, climate sciences, writes about adapting to the increasing intensity of rain events in an “Earth Matters” column for the Gazette.
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A New Invasive, the Elm Zigzag Fly is Already Ruining Elm Trees in Berkshire County
September 9, 2023UMass Entomologist Tawny Simisky was interviewed about damage caused by the elm zigzag fly to Elm trees in Berkshire County. The elm zigzag fly, an invasive from Japan and China, was discovered in Massachusetts a few weeks ago. Simisky explained the life cycle of the fly, why it is so damaging to forests, and the role that humans play in the invasion of the insect. “Human-assisted spread with any invasive insect is really how they move around so extra fast,” Simisky said.
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New England Dams May Not Be Built for Climate-Induced Storms
September 7, 2023Christine Hatch, Earth, geographic and climate sciences, is interviewed about the safety of New England dams, considering stronger and wetter storms caused by climate change. “The reality of climate change is that whatever we thought was safe enough when we built it isn’t safe enough anymore,” Hatch says. “There isn’t enough money to upsize all those or retrofit them.”
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Massachusetts Wetlands Protected Despite Supreme Court Ruling
September 7, 2023Scott Jackson, environmental conservation, spoke to local NPR about wetland protection in Massachusetts, despite diminished federal wetland protection following a Supreme Court decision. “Massachusetts is fortunate in that it has probably the most protective Wetlands Protection Act in the country, and the Supreme Court decision has no effect on state laws,” he says. "But the question going forward will be what condition will those wetlands be in, and can we protect the quality of those wetlands?”
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What's Wrong with Local Lilacs? Nick Brazee Has the Answer.
September 1, 2023Extension plant pathologist Nick Brazee discusses the recent foliar blight affecting area lilac trees on the September 1st episode of The Fabulous 413. The blight is caused by a fungal pathogen exacerbated by this year’s wet and humid summer. Brazee says, “As bad as it looks, it really is more of a cosmetic issue than a serious health issue. We’re so late in the growing season and lilacs are so hardy they should be fine going into the next season.”
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Is It Time for a Carbon Tax on Investors?
August 31, 2023Jared Starr, environmental conservation, appeared on a podcast to discuss his study that found that Americans who are in the top 10% of earners are responsible for 40% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. "I think our attention really needs to be on the investor class and how we can shift their behavior. If we make it unprofitable to create carbon emissions, they will find other ways to profit," Starr emphasizes.
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A Longer Fruit-Growing Season in the Northeast, but with Considerable Trade-offs
August 30, 2023Jon Clements, UMass Extension, is quoted in an article about the challenges of climate change on fruit trees. “Right now, with some of the difficulties we’re facing with the changing climate, we have new diseases moving in. We have new insect pests; I have to spend a lot of time just dealing with that and making sure that we can successfully grow what we currently have,” Clements says.
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Pick-Your-Own Apples Will Be Hard To Come by in Berkshire County This Fall
August 30, 2023Jon Clements, UMass Extension, is quoted in an article about how a frost in May damaged the apple crop in Berkshire County. “Depending on the elevation of the orchard, they’re in pretty tough shape,” Clements says. “Other counties east of here, growers have a full crop. This is a real difficult subject because there’s plenty of apples out there, but it … depends where you are.”
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Giving the Gift of Land
August 28, 2023An article on including land trusts in estate planning cites a report co-authored by Paul Catanzaro, Environmental Conservation, on conservation-based estate planning in Massachusetts.
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Julian Garcia Walther, a Ph.D. Student in Environmental Conservation, Received Honorable Mention in the 2023 American Ornithological Society Student Presentation Awards
August 25, 2023Julian Garcia Walther received an honorable mention in the 2023 American Ornithological Society Student Presentation Awards given to students who presented outstanding posters or oral presentations at the society’s annual meeting.
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Saving Our Soil: How to Extend U.S. Breadbasket Fertility for Centuries
August 24, 2023Research led by Isaac Larsen, Earth, geographic, and climate sciences, shows that the rapid and unsustainable rate of topsoil erosion can be drastically reduced with no-till agricultural methods already in practice.
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The Catch and Release Professor: Andy Danylchuk
August 21, 2023Andrew Danylchuk, environmental conservation, is profiled as a “globetrotting academic … on a mission to improve fisheries by studying the effects of fish handling and educating anglers and future scientists alike.” He is on a quest to ensure fish are released carefully and promptly after they are caught. “Each angler has the chance to practice conservation with each fish they release,” Danylchuk says.
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New Disease Threatens Massachusetts Beech Trees
August 21, 2023Reporting about a mysterious disease affecting beech trees in Massachusetts cites 2022 comments by Extension plant pathologist Nicholas Brazee who said arborists have never seen a situation where a foliar nematode like this has killed trees.
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Soil is Eroding 10 to 1,000 Times Faster Than It Forms
August 17, 2023An article on soil health cites a UMass Amherst study on soil erosion. The study found that the rate of soil loss is nearly double what the USDA considers sustainable at an average of 0.0787 inches of soil per year over the past 160 years.
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Can a Building Made of Wood Fight Climate Change?
August 15, 2023Peggi L. Clouston, environmental conservation, is interviewed for a “Chronicle” television segment about the environmental benefits of constructing large buildings out of wood. She points to the John W. Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst as an example. “This building has some 2,000 cubic meters of wood in it, which equates to just under 2,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide stored in the wood,” Clouston says. “We should be starting to think about these buildings as carbon storage tanks.”
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Sewage and Stormwater Flow Through the Same Pipes in Holyoke, Chicopee and Springfield
August 11, 2023A kayaker describes the state of the Connecticut River after catastrophic flooding in the Valley. Scott Jackson, UMass Extension professor in environmental conservation, comments about the importance of wetlands in improving water quality and preventing flooding.
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'Case-by-case': Experts Say Farmers May Be Able to Save Some Crops from Flooded Fields
July 27, 2023Clem Clay, director of the UMass Extension Agriculture Program, is quoted in a radio report about Massachusetts agricultural officials and others working with farmers to see what crops may still be saved and what can’t after fields across Western Massachusetts were flooded in recent storms. Clay says crops touched by floodwaters from rivers must be destroyed, while crops impacted by flooding just from rain and not swollen rivers may be spared.
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UMass Extension Continues to Assist Local Farmers
July 26, 2023At a meeting with farmers, Northampton State Senator Jo Comeford thanked UMass Extension for contributions and assistance to flood relief efforts. Assistance includes mitigating threats to crops, maintaining a safe food supply, and applying for financial assistance.
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Jason Lanier Explains the Effects of Heavy Rain and Moisture on Trees in Attleboro Area
July 23, 2023Jason Lanier from UMass Extension says, “One potential issue with a lot of excess moisture is disease. Disease typically needs ample moisture and extended leaf wetness to gain a foothold, and there certainly has been no shortage of that.”
