News

Carnivorous Squirrels Documented in California

A ground squirrel with cheeks stuffed with nuts, seeds or grains, is a common sight. But a new study provides the first evidence that California ground squirrels also hunt, kill and eat voles. The study, led by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California, Davis, is the first to chronicle widespread carnivorous behavior among squirrels.

The High Cost of Carbon

The social cost of carbon — an important figure that global policymakers use to analyze the benefits of climate and energy policies — is too low, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis.

Nigeria Adopts Multiple Micronutrient-Fortified Bouillon Cube Standards to Reduce Malnutrition and Child Mortality

The Nigerian government has enacted a new industrial standard for bouillon which includes a provision for adding vital micronutrients. The new standard specifies the inclusion of iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12 on a voluntary basis in nationally produced and imported bouillon cubes to reduce malnutrition and child mortality.

UC Davis Joins $26 Million Engineering Research Center Aimed at Decarbonization

Yi Wang, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of California, Davis, is part of a new multi-institutional engineering research center funded by the National Science Foundation that aims to develop transformative technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and foster sustainable manufacturing practices.

Shrubs Can Help or Hinder a Forest’s Recovery After Wildfire

New research from the University of California, Davis, is shedding light on when and where to plant tree seedlings to help restore forests after high-severity wildfires, and it has a lot to do with shrubs. 

In hotter, drier areas where natural regeneration is weaker, well-timed tree planting can boost recovery by up to 200%, but the outcome also depends on competition with shrubs, a paper in the journal Forest Ecology and Management concludes.

A Message From the Dean - December 2024

Season’s Greetings from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences! Every December we create a yearly slideshow to showcase our many incredible efforts and commitment to excellence in education, research and outreach. This year we had several reasons to celebrate the college! Please enjoy the highlights for 2024—a year full of discoveries, awards, research and student engagement. Thank you to our faculty, staff, students, friends, donors and partners for your dedication and commitment to the college and campus.

From Sketch to Reality: Students Design and Build New Structures on Campus

What started as a simple sketch in Brianna Bobadilla’s notebook has transformed into an eye-catching structure – a hanging table surrounded by benches and elevated side tables. Now on display outside Hunt Hall, just steps from Memorial Union, this piece is one of three unique structures crafted by students in the LDA 160 Design and Build Studio course, which challenges students to build a new small-scale project each fall.

WeedChat: An AI-Powered Chatbot to Answer Thorny and Weedy Questions

Researchers at University of California, Davis, are developing a chatbot powered by Artificial Intelligence to help growers, backyard gardeners, landowners and others identify and treat weeds. 

WeedChat will have access to and train itself on a broad array of papers, books, journals and other data that allow it to provide real-time accurate, comprehensive information about weeds and invasive plants, said Mohsen Mesgaran, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences.