For the Earth and Environment

At the College of Natural Resources, the College of Sciences, and many other labs and research stations spread throughout the state, we work to keep our soil, air and water clean.

#1 Public School

NC State’s College of Natural Resources is the top-ranked place in the southeast U.S. to study natural resources and conservation.

12,331 Miles

North Carolina has 322 miles of ocean shoreline and the nation’s second-largest system of estuaries — which collectively have 12,009 miles of coastline.

18.7M+ Acres

Among our state’s most important natural resources, North Carolina’s forests cover approximately 61% of our total land area.

Building a Better Forest Tree With CRISPR Gene Editing

NC State startup company TreeCo is working to make forestry, fiber production — from paper to diapers — and other industries more sustainable.

Microcleaners for Microplastics

Researchers have shown that an integrated system leveraging unique materials could be used to capture and remove microplastics from bodies of water.

Female firefighter walling through a forest during a training exercise.

Assessing Wildfire Risks After Helene

A year after Hurricane Helene’s destructive flooding, communities in Western North Carolina prepared for wildfire season in the fall, when risks increased as trees shed their foliage.

Replacing Toxic Lubricants

To keep seed spreaders from jamming, farmers need to use solid lubricants — typically either talc or microplastics — that pose risks to human health and the environment. NC State engineers have helped develop a nontoxic alternative that, in field tests, outperformed both talc- and microplastic-based lubricants.

A safer solid lubricant

Reviving a Southern Icon: How Science Is Securing the Future of Longleaf Pine

A collaborative research effort is underway to enhance the genetic diversity and adaptability of longleaf pine for future forests.

Cottonseed Oil Could Take the Place of Toxic Chemicals in Textiles and Paper Production

Cotton seeds could be key to replacing the toxic chemicals used to produce wrinkle-free fabrics and water-resistant paper products.

Keeping North Carolina’s Coastal Communities Healthy

Researchers with the North Carolina Center for Coastal Algae, People and Environment (NC C-CAPE) are collecting water, oyster and blue crab samples to address the growing concern of harmful algal blooms on our coast.

STEPS Center: Reducing Society’s Reliance on Phosphorus

Bringing together a community of our country’s leading researchers across the physical, life, social and economic sciences, the Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center integrates disciplinary contributions to address complex challenges in phosphorus sustainability.

Used globally to fertilize plant crops, the element phosphorus underpins many critical biological processes. Most of that fertilizer comes from non-renewable phosphate deposits — mined outside the U.S.

Once farms use this phosphorus, only 20% makes it into the human diet due to system losses and inefficiencies. The remainder often accumulates in soil and water sources, where it causes negative environmental impacts — such as algal blooms, which can contaminate safe drinking water and harm marine life. STEPS is working to find solutions for phosphorus that rely on new materials, technologies and strategies to control, recover, reuse and manage phosphorus in novel, sustainable ways.

More research from STEPS: