Isabella Storniolo's Capstone Thesis
Rae Milstead | April 27, 2023
Isabella Storniolo is a graduating senior of the class of 2023, receiving a B.S. in environmental studies with a concentration in sustainable agriculture.
Storniolo grew up in Corvallis, Ore., and moved to N.C. to attend Warren Wilson College (WWC). In her time here, Storniolo has been a part of the Fiber Arts Crew and Garden Crew, along with being on the cross-country team during her first two years at WWC.
She now works at a vegetable and flower farm nearby and plans to move to Hood River, Ore. once she graduates to work on a small permaculture farm and spend time with her family. In Storniolo’s free time, she enjoys spending time in the mountains by trail running, hiking and swimming.
Storniolo’s thesis and research focused on the importance of light availability in red spruce regeneration; she conducted this experiment along the Flat Laurel Creek Trail in the Pisgah National Forest. Storniolo studied seedling abundance and size compared to canopy openness and found that openness was not significantly positively correlated with seedling abundance, but it may have been a factor in the successful regeneration occurring in the two sites that had more open canopies.
Based on her results, Storniolo does recommend that future spruce restoration initiatives in her study area should consider management practices that encourage seedling regeneration by creating gaps in canopies and girdling — also called ring barking — of northern hardwoods in the area.
In talking about what she enjoyed about her research, Storniolo discusses her time spent in the Black Balsam spruce forests.
“They are incredibly special forests that feel very different from other forest types found in this area,” Stromolio said. “They are mysterious and slightly eerie but are home to so much life. I also loved learning about how these forests are relics of the last glacial period and how uniquely they have evolved in the thousands of years since then.”