<\/p>\n\n\n\n Associate Professor Jeff Hatten also spent his spring 2019 sabbatical there working on projects related to forest nutrition dynamics. He says one aspect of Scion\u2019s mission is to grow trees faster and more sustainably to create better wood products and healthier forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt leads to forward-thinking problem\nsolving around those issues,\u201d says Hatten. \u201cIt\u2019s an area of study I haven\u2019t focused\non in my career,\u201d Hatten says. \u201cI\u2019m piecing information together and learning\nmore about what Scion has done to manage for Radiata Pine and Douglas-fir.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Radiata Pine is the largest plantation species\nin New Zealand. Douglas-fir is also popular, and locals sometimes refer to it\nas \u2018Oregon fir.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hatten says the two species are very different but thrive in similar soils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are a lot of similarities between\nNew Zealand and the Pacific Northwest,\u201d Hatten says. \u201cThis means there are also\nsimilar problems in terms of how we grow and harvest trees. I\u2019m interested in\nlearning more about the problems and helping solve them here and back in\nOregon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ph.D. Student Michael Gordon hasn\u2019t\nbeen to New Zealand \u2013 yet \u2013 but he\u2019s working with Distinguished Professor Steve\nStrauss and Assistant Professor Jared LeBoldus, using gene transfer methods\ndeveloped by Scion to produce a disease-resistant Douglas-fir tree. While\ngenetically modifying trees is common in species like poplar (cottonwoods and\naspens), it\u2019s uncommon in plantation species important in Oregon, like Douglas fir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The team is using host-induced gene\nsilencing, widely called \u2018HIGS\u2019 by scientists, to encourage trees to successfully\nresist diseases like Swiss needle cast \u2014 and to do it by tweaking the natural\nmechanisms by which trees and their pathogens interact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scion scientists will insert the OSU-designed\ngenes into Douglas-fir and send micro-propagated plants to Oregon State where\nthey will grow in a greenhouse. When acclimated, they will be planted in a USDA-regulated\nfield trial and monitored for growth and disease resistance. Gordon says the project\nis at the cutting edge, and he does not know if it will be successful. However,\nsimilar projects with crop plants have seen success, and if successful, this\nproject could open up new and exciting ways to control Swiss needle cast\nand many other forest diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In April 2019, Liam Gilson, a graduate student studying sustainable forest management<\/a> and advised by Doug Maguire, the N.B. and Jacqueline Giustina Professor of Forest Management, presented his New Zealand-related research at the Western Forestry Graduate Research Symposium hosted by Oregon State. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gilson’s project compares growth rates of Douglas fir in the\nPacific Northwest and New Zealand\u2019s South Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Douglas fir grows faster in the Southern Hemisphere, compared to\nits native climate in the Pacific Northwest, but little research points to why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy project used a group of plantings in western Oregon and the\nSouth Island of New Zealand that originated from the same seed lot,\u201d Gilson\nsays. \u201cThe project investigates the interplay between genetics and\nenvironmental conditions within and between these two radically different geographic\nlocations separated by 7,400 miles. The results will help to develop strategies\nto minimize risks of plantation damage as our climate changes, inform the\nchoice of genetic material for future plantings and strengthen the case for\ngene conservation in the context of Douglas-fi r breeding in New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With these and other projects and collaborations in the works, the exchange of ideas, research and people between Oregon State and Scion will likely continue, as New Zealand continues to promote the use of sustainable forestry practices and strive toward an even greener economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A version of this story appeared in the fall 2019 issue of <\/em>Focus on Forestry, the alumni magazine of the Oregon State University College of Forestry. Learn more about international programs within the College of Forestry here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Scion in New Zealand is a beacon for international researchers in the forestry and wood products industries. More than half-a-dozen Oregon State researchers have connections to Scion, an institute that specializes in research, science and technology development for the forestry, wood product, wood-derived materials and other biomaterial sectors. A sabbatical hotspot \u201cJust imagine the College… Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3115\/files\/2019\/09\/PorarariRiver1.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nProblem-solving tree diseases<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Pressing on: more work to be done<\/h4>\n\n\n\n