Maine Perspective Front Page
Graduate Student Focus
Computer Composites
Making wood fiber composite materials usually requires pulping machines, presses and other industrial equipment. Huaijun Wang, graduate student in Wood Science, is constructing composites using only a computer. He is creating a computer model that simulates the structure of these materials based on the characteristics of individual fibers and fiber-to-fiber interactions. His model will be tested against actual laboratory experiments. This virtual model could be used to investigate new composite material designs or to improve paper production. Wang is a member of the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center and works in collaboration with Stephen Shaler in the Department of Forest Management and AEWC.
On Solid Ground
The soil beneath our feet contains most of the ingredients for life. Jennifer Evans, a graduate student in the Department of Plant, Soil and Environmental Sciences, is studying how disturbances in the environment such as acid rain, forest fire or forest harvesting, can affect those ingredients. Such disturbances could also alter the role that forest ecosystems play in sequestering carbon under a changing climate. Evans is analyzing the ratios of carbon and nitrogen in soils at research sites in Acadia National Park, Lead Mountain in Hancock County and Weymouth Point in Piscataquis County. In general, she found that 10-50 years after disturbances, only small changes in the amounts of carbon and nitrogen in the soil are evident. She also found that the quality of soil organic matter changed, particularly in upper soil layers. Her results are useful in understanding how land management affects the balance of carbon in soil and atmosphere.
Martens and Managed Forests
Land management impacts on wildlife are a major factor in forest conservation discussions. Angela Fuller, a graduate student in the Department of Wildlife Ecology, has been studying the relationship between pine marten and tree harvesting systems in an industrial forest west of Baxter State Park. Working with Dan Harrison, professor of wildlife ecology, she trapped and radio collared about 60 marten in an effort to track their use of mature, clearcut and partially cut forests. She found that marten avoid recent clearcuts during winter and summer, despite clearcuts having high concentrations of snowshoe hares, a winter staple of the marten. Marten prefer partially cut and mature forests about equally during the summer. During the winter, they increase their use of mature forests and expand their range to include less partially harvested forest and more mature forest. Previous work by Harrison and others has found that marten prefer stands with large amounts of woody debris and at least 30 percent canopy cover. Their results indicate that marten will continue to occupy managed forests until the combined percentage of clearcuts is less than 35 years old and partial harvest exceeds 40 percent of the landscape.
Maya Forest Lands
Archaeologists estimate that the northern lowland rainforest of Guatemala used to feed a population of more than 1 million people about 1,000 years ago. Although the area was sparsely populated in the 1960s (about 25,000), the population has recently grown to around 500,000. Dan Hayes, a graduate student in Forest Management, is studying the use of satellite imagery to detect changes in the landscape of a protected area known as the Maya Biosphere Reserve. He is working with Steve Sader, professor of forest management who specializes in remote sensing applications. Analyses of images from two decades indicate what types of forest lands are being cleared for slash and burn agriculture and pasture. The project is being conducted in cooperation with the government of Guatemala and conservation organizations with financial support from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.