SEFS Seminar Series 2024

Written by

The SEFS Seminar Series has returned, featuring weekly presentations from SEFS and UW researchers and affiliates. Check back for additional details throughout the semester.

Location: Anderson 207/Forest Club Room

January 17th: Dr. Brian Harvey

January 24: UW – Kobe University Joint Symposium

January 31: Dr. Meade Krosby

February 7th: Dr. Britt Johnson

February 21st: Dr. Heidi Gough 

February 28th: Dr. Gregory Bratman 

March 6th: Dr. Sameer Shah 

For additional details, see the SEFS Seminar Series page.

2016 Distinguished Alumni Seminar: Professor Randy Dahlgren

Written by

On Wednesday, October 5, we are very pleased to welcome Professor Randy Dahlgren (’84, M.S.; ’87, Ph.D.) from the University of California – Davis to give our annual Distinguished Alumni Seminar: “From Subduction to Salmon: Geologic Subsidies Drive High Productivity of a Volcanic Spring-Fed River.” The talk is open to the public and will run from 3:30 to 4:20 p.m. in Anderson 223.

randy-dahlgrenAbout the Speaker
Randy is a Distinguished Professor of Soil Science and Biogeochemistry in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at the University of California – Davis, where he holds the Russell L. Rustici Endowed Chair in Rangeland Watershed Sciences. Randy received his Ph.D. and M.S. in forest soils from SEFS (then the College of Forest Resources), and his B.S. in soil science from North Dakota State University. His research program in biogeochemistry examines the interaction of hydrological, geochemical and biological processes in regulating nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and surface and ground water chemistry. He is a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, fellow of the UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute, and has received several awards, including the UCD 2008 Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award, 2012 UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement (considered the UC-Davis Nobel Prize), and the West Lake Friendship Award from the Governor of Zhejiang Province, China.

About the Talk
Critical habitats necessary to support cold-water species in lotic ecosystems are anticipated to diminish as global climate change reduces summertime availability of cold water in streams. Volcanic spring-fed streams may prove an exception to this habitat loss as large aquifers with high residence times produce reliable stream flow for sustaining cold-water species. Here, we identify a hitherto overlooked exceptionally productive and resilient environment in which large groundwater springs located within volcanic arcs provide consistent cold-water stream flow and ecologically significant nitrogen and phosphorus inputs from geologic sources. In the spring-fed Shasta River of northern California, steelhead trout take advantage of abundant food and stable year-round flow and water temperature regimes to accrue a substantial growth advantage over individuals from an adjacent non-spring-fed stream, exhibiting a six-fold increase in mass and two-fold increase in length. Results demonstrate that geologically derived nutrients in spring-fed streams are driving aquatic ecosystem productivity and resiliency, making these habitats exceptionally important for conserving cold-water species impacted by global climate change.

We are thrilled to welcome Randy for the Distinguished Alumni Seminar, and we hope you’ll be able to join us!

SEFS Seminar Series: Week 8 Preview

Written by

SEFS Seminar SeriesYou’re in for a real treat this Wednesday with a SEFS Seminar Series doubleheader!

First, from 3 to 4 p.m.—an hour earlier than usual—we’re welcoming Dr. Anna Schoettle, a research plant ecophysiologist with the U.S. Forest Service. She is traveling all the way from the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Colorado to give her talk, “Managing for resilience: Sustaining mountain-top ecosystems in the presence of white pine blister rust,” so don’t miss this special opportunity!

Then, from 4 to 5 p.m., stay glued to your seats for Professor Jerry Franklin, who will follow with his talk, “Chaos in federal forest policy in the Pacific Northwest: The situation and a proposal.”

It’s an exciting line-up, so come to both if you can—and then join us afterward for a reception in the Forest Room from 5 to 6:30 p.m.!

NOTE: There will be no seminar next week on March 6, but the series will resume the following Wednesday, March 13, with Professor Sándor Toth for his talk, “Modeling green‐up constraints in spatial forest planning.”

SEFS Seminar Series: Week 7 Preview

Written by

“A sustainable way to keep the Emerald City green, even in the summertime…”

“Letting it all seep in…”

“Every flush you make …”

“Engineers and ecologists—working together…”

Sally Brown
Professor Sally Brown

No matter how you spin it, the next seminar topic is bound to whet your intellectual appetite! So let your curiosity steer you to Anderson 223 this Wednesday, February 20, when Professor Sally Brown presents in Week 7 of the SEFS Seminar Series, “Reintroducing the water cycle in urban areas.”

Also, next week—February 27—is a seminar doubleheader!

First up, from 3 to 4 p.m., Anna Schoettle will be in town to give her talk, “Managing for resilience: Sustaining mountaintop ecosystems in the presence of white pine blister rust.” (She had originally been scheduled for March 13, but a conflict pushed her up a week).

Then, from 4 to 5 p.m., Professor Jerry Franklin will follow with his talk, “Chaos in federal forest policy in PNW: The situation and a proposal.”

Make sure to mark the change on your calendars, and come to both if you can!

The seminars are held in Anderson 223 and are open to all faculty, staff and students. Check out the rest of the seminar schedule for the Winter Quarter, and join us each week for a reception in the Forest Room from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Photo © Sally Brown.

SEFS Seminar Series: Week 5 Preview

Written by

Have you ever wondered if it pays to be a good environmental steward or socially responsible?

From a corporate perspective, does financial performance (profitability) increase when a company increases its environmental performance? Said another way, are profits and environmental stewardship positively correlated, siblings that get along well? Or do profits decrease—profits and environmental stewardship are negatively correlated, siblings that fight with one another? Or are profitability and environmental stewardship independent of one another—not correlated, or strangers?

And what about corporate social responsibility? Is financial performance positively, negatively or not correlated with increases in social responsibility performance?

Intrigued?

Join Professor Dorothy Paun this Wednesday, February 6, as she presents on her triple bottom line sustainability research in Week 5 of the SEFS Seminar Series: “Environmental Stewardship, Social Equity and Corporate Profitability: Siblings or Strangers?”

Professor Paun’s presentation will provide insights about these relationships and explore the potential benefits of a triple bottom line sustainability approach—one that strives to integrate, perhaps even balance, financial, environmental and social responsibility roles, practices and commitments.

Also joining the discussion will be Robb Schmitt, currently a SEFS M.S. and Foster Business School M.B.A. student, who will talk for 10 minutes about his experiences with the team of students who help collect data in SEFS 519 (spring quarter on Tuesday and Thursday evenings).

The seminars, held in Anderson 223 on Wednesdays from 4 to 5 p.m., are open to all faculty, staff and students. Check out the rest of the seminar schedule for the Winter Quarter, and join us each week for a reception in the Forest Room from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Slide Image © Dorothy Paun.

SEFS Seminar Series: Speakers & Topics Announced

Written by

Seminar SeriesStarting on January 9, 2013, Director Tom DeLuca will kick off the SEFS Seminar Series (SEFS 550F) for the Winter Quarter with an introduction and the first topic, “Nitrogen dynamics in boreal ecosystems.” Check out the rest of the schedule below, and mark your calendars today!

The seminars, held in Anderson 223 on Wednesdays from 4 to 5 p.m., are open to all faculty, staff and students. Each week, a reception will follow in the Forest Room from 5 to 6:30 p.m. (Graduate students can receive course credit for attending 9 of 10 seminars by registering for SEFS 550F, SLN 20703. Please email sefsadv@uw.edu if you have any trouble registering.)

Seminar Schedule

1/9/2013
Introduction to SEFS Graduate Seminar Series: Nitrogen dynamics in boreal ecosystems
Tom DeLuca

1/16/2013
The really hidden half of the hidden half: The role of deep soil in forest ecocystem processes
Robert Harrison

1/23/2013
Suffer the Buffers: Population Growth and Resource Degradation in Pre-Modern China
Stevan Harrell

1/30/2013
Cost-effective subwatershed targeting of agricultural conservation practices to address Gulf of Mexico hypoxia
Sergey Rabotyagov

2/6/2013
Environmental stewardship, social equity and corporate profitability: Siblings or strangers?
Dorothy Paun

2/13/2013
How can we improve the production of fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass?
Renata Bura

2/20/2013
Reintroducing the water cycle in urban areas
Sally Brown

2/27/2013 (Doubleheader)
3 p.m.: Managing for resilience: Sustaining mountaintop ecosystems in the presence of white pine blister rust
Anna Schoettle

4 p.m.:  Chaos in federal forest policy in PNW: The situation and a proposal
Jerry Franklin

3/6/2013
No seminar scheduled.

3/13/2013
Modeling green‐up constraints in spatial forest planning
Sándor Toth

3/20/2013
TBD