Category: Forests

Sunrise and overhanging oak trees at Lake Alice.

Friend or Foe? Are Trees Protecting Your Home from Hurricanes—Or Putting It in Peril? (Tree Journal Club 8)

by Andrew Koeser
August 7, 2025

This afternoon, I received an email from a PhD student at a small but hard-hitting engineering and aeronautics school across the state. His research focuses on urban trees and hurricanes, and he had come across some of my work. He reached out ... READ MORE

Category: , Forests, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Rooted In Tree Research, Tree Research Journal Club, Urban Forest, Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry Extension

Career Paths Around the Tree of Life

by Donna Corbelli Castro
August 6, 2025

Agriculture literally is the tree of life for everyone on the planet.  Without agriculture, we could not support the population as it exists now.  In fact, it was agriculture that enabled many countries to establish.  Previously in history, ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Agriculture, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Professional Development, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, , Wildlife
Tags: Agriculture, Arboriculture, Careers, Certifications, Ecology, Green Industry, Horticulture

Sensational Sand Pines (Pinus clausa)

by Jamie Daugherty, Ph.D.
August 6, 2025

The Sand Pine (Pinus clausa) is our only native pine harvested as a Christmas tree. Its compact, conical shape and dense, waxy needles make it perfect for seasonal decorating and year-round appeal. If you need a trick to remember its name Latin ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Pines, Sand Pine, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension Sumter County, Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry Extenstion
Douglas fir forest

Assisted by sniffer dogs and DNA sequencing, researchers discover three new truffle species

by Megan Winslow
August 1, 2025

University of Florida biologists studying fungal evolution and ecology have discovered three new truffle species, including one capable of commanding hundreds of dollars per pound within culinary circles. (more…) READ MORE

Category: Forests, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Appalachian Mountains, Benjamin Lemmon, Biologist, Biology, Cascadia, Cooking, Culinary, Delicacy, Discovery, DNA Sequencing, Dog, Douglas Fir, Fungal, Fungus, Genetic Testing, Great Smoky Mountains, IFAS, Imaia Kuwohiensis, Inaturalist, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Leucangium, Leucangium Carthusianum, Leucangium Cascadiense, Leucangium Oneidaense, Matt Smith, Matthew Smith, Megan Winslow, Morchellaceae, Oregon Black Truffle, Pacific Northwest, Pathology, Persoonia, Plant, Plant Pathology Department, Research, Rocky Mountains, Science, Sniffer Dog, Symbiotic Relationship, Truffle, UF, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida

Strange Palm Growth? It Might Be a Boron Deficiency

by Jamie Daugherty, Ph.D.
July 30, 2025

If you manage palms, you know they need high-quality fertilizer applied regularly. Using a fertilizer that isn’t properly balanced for palms can lead to nutrient deficiencies—some of which mimic disease symptoms or make your palm appear ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Nutrient Deficiency, Palm Care, UF/IFAS Extension, Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry Extension

Florida Land Steward Update, July 28, 2025

by Chris Demers
July 28, 2025

THANKS TO THOSE JOINING US LAST WEEK FOR OUR FLORIDA LAND STEWARD WEBINAR ON PINE BEETLE RESPONSE FOLLOWING HURRICANES, RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE Florida Forest Service State Forest Entomologist, Jeff Eickwort discussed the pine bark beetles ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Disaster Preparation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Recreation, SFYL Hot Topic, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Family Forest, Florida Land Steward Program, Florida Panther, Forest Health, Forest Management, Hurricane Preparation, Hurricane Recovery, Hurricane Season, Invasive Species, Longleaf Pine, Natural Resources, Online Course, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, Southern Pine Beetle, Tree Farm, Wildlife
iNat_on_phone_with_snake_in_background_credit_blog banner

Science by the millions: How everyday people are revolutionizing global biodiversity research with tech

by Lourdes Mederos
July 28, 2025

A frog croaks from a walking trail. A hiker snaps a photo and uploads it to iNaturalist. That single act — one person, one amphibian and one click — feeds into a growing global dataset that scientists now use to map shifting species ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Agencies, Agricultural Technology Firms, Aquatic Invasives, Biodiversity, BioScience, Brittany Mason, Citizen Science, Conservation, Corey Callaghan, Dataset, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Fungi, Global Ecology, High-resolution Maps, Inaturalist, INaturalist App, Invasive, Lourdes Mederos, Map Shifting, Modeling, News, Observations, Organisms, Photo, Plants, Research Grade, Scientists, Species Ranges, Study, Technology, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, University Of Florida Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Wildlife Ecology And Conservation

Tabebuia in Bloom: A Tale of Two Spectacular Shades

by Jamie Daugherty, Ph.D.
July 25, 2025

In Central Florida, we are fortunate to enjoy not one, but two stunning species of Tabebuia that add bursts of seasonal color to our landscape. These showy trees are part of the Bignoniaceae family, known for their impressive trumpet-shaped ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Flowering Tree, Golden Trumpet Tree, Handroanthus Chrysotricha, HHandroanthus Pentaphyllus, Pink Trumpet Tree, Tabebuia, Tabebuia Chrysotricha, Tabebuia Heterophylla

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