Environment

URBANA, Ill. – The ivory palm tree, also known as tagua, is endemic to the Chocó-Darien region on the Pacific coast of South America. The local population relies on this unique tree for many uses and the tagua fruit, nuts, and leaves provide materials for a range of products. Two studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) explore the ecosystem services provided by tagua in coastal Ecuador.

URBANA, Ill. — Bianca Bailey, founder and CEO of Agriwater Corp., received the 2023 U.S. Bank Foundation Cleantech Inclusion Award. Bailey holds a doctoral degree from the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.

URBANA, Ill. — There’s a complex world beneath our feet, teeming with diverse and interdependent life. Plants call out with chemical signals in times of stress, summoning microbes that can unlock bound nutrients and find water in soil pores too small for the finest roots. In return, microbes get a safe place to live or a sugary drink. 

URBANA, Ill. — Over half of forests in the United States are privately owned, especially in the Eastern part of the country. This can make control of invasive species challenging, as efforts need to be coordinated among many different landowners. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at how family forest landowners in Maine and New Hampshire approach invasive species management and what factors influence their decisions.

URBANA, Ill. — Food waste is a major problem around the world. In the United States, an estimated 30 to 40% of edible food is lost or wasted, costing billions of dollars each year. One potential solution is to divert food waste from landfills to renewable energy production, but this isn’t done on a large scale anywhere.

URBANA, Ill. — Winter cover crops could cut nitrogen pollution in Illinois’ agricultural drainage water up to 30%, according to recent research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. But how will future climate change affect nitrogen loss, and will cover crops still be up to the job?

URBANA, Ill. — Livestock and pets may be at risk due to poor air quality from Canadian wildfire smoke, according to animal welfare expert Angela Green-Miller at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

URBANA, Ill. — Bioenergy crops such as miscanthus and switchgrass provide several environmental benefits, but low returns and profit risks are barriers for investment by farmers. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows that carbon mitigation payments could increase net returns and reduce income risk, potentially enticing more farmers to grow these crops.

URBANA, Ill. – Caleb Bruhn, doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) at the University of Illinois, has been named as a 2023 Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) fellow. The FFAR Fellows Program prepares the next generation of food and agriculture scientists for the workforce by providing hands-on support and mentoring from the industry.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS – No matter how many times I do this, I always get nervous. I am demonstrating the proper use of a chainsaw to fell a tree and I want it to go well. After choosing the right tree, a medium-sized box elder, I walk through the steps out loud so that everyone in the class can hear me: One must assess any hazards, determine which way the tree is leaning and whether it might be rotten in the middle, find a safe escape route for when the tree starts falling.