BDN features Tasnim wild blueberry research
The Bangor Daily News featured Rafa Tasnim, University of Maine Ph.D. candidate in ecology and environmental sciences, and her research showing that wild blueberry fields in Down East Maine are warming faster than the state as a whole, and that fields experience warming differently, depending on their location, the season and the time of day, among other factors. Another recent study that Tasnim co-authored found that wild blueberries are more sensitive to dry conditions over a long period of time, meaning proper soil moisture management is more essential than previously expected. Tasnim is evaluating materials that may improve water retention in the soil that would protect the plants during dry periods at blueberry fields, particularly those once considered waste products like compost and biochar to help create more sustainable food systems.