Dr. Scott M. Holub, Weyerhaeuser’s principal investigator on the Fall River Long-Term Site Productivity study in coastal Washington since 2009, will participate on sustainable feedstock production for the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance project. As a silviculture research scientist, Dr. Holub’s duties include planning and conducting internal proprietary research to improve silvicultural techniques, especially regarding soils and nutrient management, in Weyerhaeuser’s western U.S. ownership.
Recently, Dr. Holub initiated a collaborative, nonproprietary study with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Forest Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service to investigate the effect of timber harvest on soil carbon. The new study will assess current soil carbon stores in preharvest stands with enough statistical precision to detect a meaningful change in soil carbon at intervals following harvest. This factor is of increasing environmental interest because soil carbon makes up two-thirds of the terrestrial carbon in these forested ecosystems.
Before joining Weyerhaeuser, Dr. Holub worked as an ecologist for the EPA’s Office of Research Development, National Risk Management Research Lab, Ground Water and Ecosystem Restoration Division in Ada, Oklahoma.
Dr. Holub earned his Ph.D. in Botany and Plant Pathology (with an ecology emphasis) from Oregon State University in 2002.