Congress mandates that researchers receiving federal funds must publish research results and distribute them to as wide an audience as possible. As one of the two founding research schools at UAF, the School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences has generated plenty of research to report on over the last century. Topics cover a broad spectrum, from peony marketing to reindeer husbandry to the projected effects of climate change in the Arctic to the dynamics of forest soils in the taiga.

The AFES/SNRAS Information Services Office provides the editing, publishing, and distribution activities to support the dissemination of faculty and student research. Publications are written for a general or scientific audience, ranging from the research magazine, Agroborealis; to annual variety trial circulars detailing the results of tests on herbs, vegetables, and flowers at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm; to the Senior Thesis Series, highlighting the research of undergraduate students.

Covering SNRAS' partners, facilities, research sites, programs, and research in geography, high latitude agriculture and soils, management of ecosystems, and natural resources use and allocation, the annual report for calendar year 2009 shows the breadth of scientific research we do. From marine transportation policy to artificial insemination of reindeer, from biofuels to peony production, from phosphorus and carbon in northern soils to climate change and the anthropology of wood use, from crab fisheries management to wetlands habitat in Fairbanks, our scientists and students are on the cutting edge of modern scientific discovery.

Since the arrival of non-Native peoples to Alaska, the state has heavily relied on importing most food. Food security concerns have been raised related to supply disruptions, cost, and health. This thesis was designed as a pilot study and intended to provide information on local vegetable and fruit production in the Tanana Valley through a survey of commercial vegetable and fruit producers.

The survey provided insight into characteristics of producers, production, and marketing practices. Increasing crop production in the Tanana Valley is possible, but measuring current production may require a more complex measuring system that is more consistent with producer practices. Alaska faces many challenges if it is to transition from an un-integrated food system to a more comprehensive food system that generates value to local communities.

Trials at the botanical garden consist of new and standard cultivars suitable for small market gardens and home gardens in the Tanana Valley, Alaska. Each year more than 300 annual flowering plants are grown in field trials.

Sustainable, secure food, resources, and energy for Alaska in the face of climate change is the theme of the most recent issue of Agroborealis. New political landscapes are developing in the Arctic as sea ice retreats, simultaneously opening up new shipping lanes and new challenges for arctic peoples. Biomass and renewable-based hydrocarbon research are pointing the way to increased energy security and industrial development, while Alaska's farmers and schools are rising to the challenge of providing secure access to locally appropriate food supplies.

Research has been conducted at the Georgeson Botanical Garden since 2001 on peony field cut flower production and distribution, from field selection and planting to post harvet handling and packaging for export. This publication is the latest in a series, and addresses three components of the production cycle: field planting dates, root quality and plant productivity, and post harvest handling of cut stems.

With the recent release of 'Sunshine' hulless barley there has been an increase in interest about growing grains in a small-scale garden setting. Even though the scale is greatly reduced, a few square feet versus many acres, the same principles apply to growing a high yielding crop successfully. This publication reviews crop selection of species and varieties suitable to the north, seedbed preparation, soil fertility, tilling, pest control, harvesting, processing, and flour storage.

As the price of traditional fossil fuels escalates, there is increasing interest in using renewable resources, such as biomass, to meet our energy needs. Biomass has the potential to partially replace heating oil; one method of ensuring long-term sustainable production and harvest of biomass may be by growing short rotation woody biomass crops such as willows or poplars. This publication examines existing coppicing research in Sweden and New York State, and looks at revegetation and the potential for similar use in Alaska.