Would you like to study forest ecology and dynamics in the heart of the southern Appalachians?
Western Carolina University, located just southwest of Asheville, is seeking M.S. Graduate Students to join an exciting, collaborative, landscape-scale study. The overall objective of the project is to determine if changing the aggregation of openings created by different types of timber harvest (single tree and group selection, small and large regeneration harvests) over multiple sub-watersheds in the Nantahala National Forest can more effectively increase abundance of early successional species at the stand and landscape levels while retaining acceptable timber yield and forest interior habitat, and creating favorable public perception. Students at WCU will focus on questions related to responses of understory plants, trees, and birds; for example, “Does aggregating harvests decrease the threshold for establishing open site vegetation?” This USDA –funded project provides summer support, and WCU graduate students typically are supported by a teaching assistantship through the academic year. We are looking for students to start Fall Semester, 2014. For more information about the WCU graduate program, including application requirements and deadlines, please contact Dr. Sabine Rundle ([email protected]). For more information about the project, please contact Beverly Collins ([email protected]), Laura DeWald ([email protected]), or Jeremy Hyman ([email protected])
