Sierra Nevada Research Institute

UC Merced’s Berhe Joins Scientists in Warning of Global Land Mine Crisis

July 24, 2025

A sign posted on a tree in Eastern Europe warns of active land mines.

More than 100 million land mines remain buried around the world, posing a threat in approximately 70 countries and territories, and killing or injuring about 5,000 people, most of them civilians, every year. As the world’s geopolitical landscape shifts, nine scientists studying...

A photo shows the Tahoe National Forest.

Study Shows How Restoring California's Overstocked Forests Yields Multiple and Diverse Benefits

Mechanical thinning of overstocked forests, prescribed burning and managed wildfire now being carried out to enhance fire protection of California's forests provide many benefits, or ecosystem...

Research Week Offers Both Virtual and In-person Events This Year

Research Week, the annual showcase of UC Merced’s important explorations into some of the world's most pressing challenges, kicks off Monday with the Sierra Nevada Research Institute’...

Solar-paneled Canals Getting a Test Run in San Joaquin Valley

A research project conducted by a UC Merced graduate student is becoming a reality as the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) approved piloting the first-in-the-nation construction of solar panels over...

Professor Stephen Hart, left, Professor Martha Conklin, right, and researcher Jian Lin, seated.

Researchers Investigate Land Management Role in Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Carbon Sequestration

A group of UC Merced researchers are working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to find out how much greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced just through land-management strategies....

Science Must Dig Deeper to Understand Climate Change’s Full Impact, Study Shows

Scientists often study the relationship of global warming and topsoil because soil is an important mediator of climate change. A newly released study indicates it’s critical to consider subsoil...

Ryan Bart is a disturbance echohydrologist. Photo by Veronica Adrover, UC Merced

Studies Find Sierra Fuel Treatments Benefit Trees and Streamflow, Though Not Together

Predicting the effects of forest fuel treatments is difficult and uncertain — it is unclear whether the treatments are more helpful to forest health or streamflow. According to new research by...

Professor Berhe Nominated to Lead Federal Office of Science

President Joe Biden has nominated UC Merced Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe to be the new director of the Office of Science in the federal Department of Energy. In honor of Earth Day, the White...

Engineering Professor Marie-Odile Fortier stands among the solar array that helps power the campus.

CAREER Award will Support Enhanced Renewable Energy Assessments

Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Marie-Odile Fortier’s plan to make more accurate assessments of renewable energy systems’ carbon footprints has made her the fifth UC Merced...

UC Merced Reaches Out with an All-Virtual Research Week

The question: What happens when UC Merced holds Research Week in the middle of a pandemic? The hypothesis: An annual, weeklong presentation of ground-breaking work reaches a big, new virtual audience...