Southern Urban Forestry/Wildland-Urban Interface

Rapidly increasing human populations and spreading cities and suburbs throughout the South are creating both opportunities and challenges in urban forests and on nearby forested lands in the path of urban expansion. The Southern Forest Resource Assessment found that urbanization will have the “most direct, immediate, and permanent effects on the extent, condition, and health of forests.” This Cross-Cutting Theme (CCT) will provide a framework for addressing the issues of sustaining healthy and productive urban and wildland-urban interface forests in the South. These issues are complex, involving multiple biotic, abiotic and socio-economic factors. This CCT will help organize and focus Southern Research Station’s (SRS) expertise and resources, with the depth and breadth needed to be effective. This CCT will be a direct response to findings and stated “unknowns” in the Southern Forest Resource Assessment, and it also complements on-going national initiatives, such as the Urban Forestry Health Monitoring Program. The Southern Center for Urban Forestry Information and Research, in Athens, GA and the Wildland-Urban Interface Center, in Gainesville FL will play key roles by facilitating technology transfer of research products. The Centers’ will help identify priority information and research needs, and facilitate the sharing of information between researchers, practitioners, and others. The Southern Region, Urban and Community Forestry Program, is a vital partner in this CCT, providing technical expertise and financial resources for technology transfer.

Kinds of Research

The SRS is involved with or has the resources in place to undertake several research studies related to urban forestry and wildland/urban interface issues.

The kinds of research to be conducted will be refined upon completion of two key activities:

1. Identify the range of issues and the agendas of research needed to affect improvements in urban and interface forest conditions to address short-term specific needs as well as longer-term, broader scoped needs.
2. Assess current SRS research activity and capacity among research work units that address or could address urban and interface forest problems and identify added capacity by area of research and science discipline needed by the Station to be effective in improving conditions.

Proposed Outcomes

1. Identify the human perceptions, uses, benefits, and values related to urban and interface forests in the South. Measure the contributions of these forests to quality of life, recreation, safety, and health of residents.
2. Assess the prevalence and effects of population growth along boundaries of National Parks, National Forests, and other public lands.
3. Improve models and approaches for estimating the economic value of trees and urban natural landscapes, including urban forest stands, wildland-urban interface settings, and the study of urban property values.
4. Continue currently funded fire related projects related to fuel reduction, landowner risk assessment, and flammability studies.
5. Evaluate the impacts of roads and vehicular traffic on sensitive wildlife under low to moderate road densities and traffic levels. Quantify the effects of different landscape attributes (stand sizes, shapes, connectivity, road densities, fragmentation patterns, etc.) on wildlife presence/absence and diversity within lightly to moderately fragmented landscapes.
6. Study the impacts of urban stresses (air pollution, soil compaction, etc.) on resistance of southern pines to native insect pests and their associated pathogenic fungi and other urban tree health issues – live oak decline and importance of live oak to tourism and economics
7. Identify wood repair and reuse activities and test new repairs and rebuilt products such as pallets from discarded urban forest products. This includes developing reliable computer tools for recovery/reuse companies in urban areas to use to produce safe pallets for moving and storing products for consumers and industry.
8. Develop indicators of sustainable urban and interface forest management for monitoring change and effectiveness of management. Include both the ability of these forests to sustain a flow of benefits and the ability of urban and other forest managers to sustain healthy and productive forest ecosystems over time (Multiple units including social, physical and biological sciences).

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