As climate change drives up temperatures around the clock, warmer nights may be especially dangerous for caterpillars – causing them to grow fast but die young. University of California, Davis, researchers used hand warmers, a novel approach to warm field plots, to test the effects of higher temperatures at night.

Organic food is easy to find these days, from farmers markets to grocery stores. But organic farming covers only a small portion of California’s agricultural land. As the state pushes to make agriculture more climate-friendly, a new UC Davis-led research project is exploring why some regions are successfully shifting to sustainable practices – while others face more barriers to making the transition.

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.

On a campus where each budding scientist brings unique potential, a student organization at UC Davis recognizes that the future of science thrives on diverse voices and perspectives.

When Paulina González-Gómez was caught admiring baby birds chirping outside her classroom window, her third-grade teacher cautioned she wouldn’t make a living watching birds. Undeterred, she is now forging a career studying how changes in the environment influence the behavior, physiological traits and life cycles of birds.

On a sunny day in June, about 30 acres of land tucked along rolling hills just north of Capay were set on fire. Wearing a bright yellow, long sleeve shirt, long pants, leather gloves, hard hat and heavy-duty goggles, UC Davis Assistant Professor Emily Schlickman participated in her first prescribed burn, a planned and controlled fire that aims to help reduce wildfire risk.

Redwoods are among the most well-studied trees on the planet, and yet their mysteries continue to surprise and delight scientists and nature lovers.