Kamal Gandhi, an associate professor in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, received $78,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a three-year grant. She will use it to determine the extent, severity and nature of eastern white pine health issues in the southeastern U.S.
Since 2006, researchers have observed a significant dieback of pines in multiple states, including Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia. The trees have high densities of cankers on branches and trunks, and canopies are thinning at various sites in the southern Appalachians.
Gandhi’s project aims to protect this ecologically important species, which is home to many forms of wildlife and is also economically important for timber industries.
