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Chhin, Steve

Program Coordinator
Associate Professor of Quantitative Forest Management
Dr. Steve Chhin is an associate professor in the Forest Resources Management program in the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources at West Virginia University and specializes in the area of quantitative forest management. Prior to joining WVU in December 2016, Dr. Chhin was on the faculty at Michigan State University and also provided outreach and leadership by serving as the President of the Michigan Forest Foundation. Dr. Chhin received his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta which is located in western Canada near the Rocky Mountains.  

The general goal of his research program is to contribute to the sustainable management of forest resources by utilizing quantitative tools to provide a mechanistic understanding of how forest management practices and environmental factors influence above-ground forest productivity and forest regeneration. He is particularly interested in helping to ensure that forests are resilient to climate change and changes in forest disturbance agents including fire, insects, and fungal pathogens. He has conducted research in a number of forest related biomes in North America, Africa, and Asia. Dr. Chhin is excited to be working in Appalachian forests and starting new projects in West Virginia.  

Dr. Chhin primarily teaches FMAN 222 (Forest Mensuration) which covers measurements of trees and logs, forest inventory sampling techniques, and tree and forest growth models. Dr. Chhin also teaches FMAN 433 (Forest Management) which is a pre-capstone course that covers the principles of sustained yield forest management, ecosystem based management, and forest optimization.

Publications

  1. Chhin, S.  2018.  Managing red oak (Quercus rubra L.) reduces sensitivity to climatic stress.  Journal of Forest and Environmental Science, 34: 338-351.
  2. Chhin, S., and Huang, S.  2018.  Spatial point-pattern analysis of a population of lodgepole pine.  Journal of Forest and Environmental Science, 34: 419-428.
  3. Chhin, S., Zalesny Jr., R.S., Parker, W.C., and Brissette, J. 2018. Dendroclimatic analysis of white pine (Pinus strobus L.) using long-term provenance test sites across eastern North America. Forest Ecosystems, 5: Article #18.
  4. Premer, M., Chhin, S., and Zhang, J. 2017. Alternative approaches to mixed conifer forest restoration: Partitioning the competitive neighborhood. New Forests, 48: 801-816.
  5. Johnson, C., Chhin, S., and Zhang, J. 2017. Effects of climate on competitive dynamics in mixed conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada. Forest Ecology and Management, 394: 1-12.
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