Issue 7

Three Communities on the Edge

by Perdita Spriggs

Combining resources is essential to addressing emerging issues in the South. The SRS Southern Center for Wildland-Urban Interface Research and Information (the WUI Center) located in Gainesville, FL, actively partners with a variety of organizations—including local, State, and Federal agencies, universities, and nongovernmental organizations—to ensure that the research it conducts is relevant, and that information reaches communities that can benefit from it.

Locales with wildland-urban interface issues particularly benefit from science-based collaborative efforts that offer solutions to urbanization driven challenges. Three such SRS partnerships—with the University of Georgia (UGA), Auburn University, and American Forests—exemplify the strength of cooperation in solving natural resource issues that have crept over city limits.

What Works in Tree Canopy Policies

Trees in cities provide shade on those long summer days, but they also ensure important ecological services such as clean water and air, as well as reduce the urban heat island effect from concrete and other hard surfaces. Good tree canopy cover also provides decreased energy bills, increased property values, and urban wildlife habitat.

As cities such as Atlanta, GA, continue to expand at a phenomenal pace, the area covered by tree canopy rapidly decreases. Researchers from UGA, in collaboration with the WUI Center, are studying the impact of county and city-level land use polices on tree canopy coverage. Determining which government policies help preserve or increase tree canopy should also identify environmentally friendly ordinances.

“We need to understand the role policy plays in urban tree canopy,” emphasizes Ed Macie, who serves a dual role as team leader for the WUI Center and as regional urban forester for the Forest Service, Southern Region Headquarters in Atlanta. “Our goal is to communicate to local land use decisionmakers the impact of tree canopy on the environment.”

The 2-year study encompasses the 10-county metro region around Atlanta and involves digitizing and calculating tree canopy coverage from Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, then tying it to variables such as income, education, employment, and population growth. An Internet survey will also query planners, natural resource professionals, and environmental organizations to gain an impression of the effectiveness of local tree canopy ordinances. Once the data is complete, researchers will determine the correlation between the changes in tree canopy and the local policies in place.

“Right now, we don’t know which policies are doing a good job,” says Jeff Dorfman, professor in UGA’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. “Many local governments have tree ordinances that restrict owners and builders. However, no one knows which policies are the most effective.”

For more information:

Ed Macie at 404–347–1647 or emacie@fs.fed.us

Rapid Change Comes to the Florida Panhandle

Florida’s population continues to grow at one of the fastest rates in the Nation, with the Florida Panhandle preparing for rapid changes in land ownership over the next few years. Massive development is already following the transition of the St. Joe Company, Florida’s largest landowner, from timber company to major land developer. Though development could bring some positive changes ncreased jobs, health care services, and educational opportunities—it could also greatly affect the natural systems of the area if not properly done.

Working with Auburn University’s Center for Forest Sustainability, the WUI Center initiated predevelopment research on the areas slated for rapid change. These studies will look at ecological, social, and economic issues in the area, their interrelation, and the influence of urban development.

“Normally, studies would come in much later, after the development has occurred,” says Wayne Zipperer, research forester at the WUI Center. “We have the unique opportunity to sample particular areas before development and compare that data to the postdeveloped state.”

The project will use an integrated approach to develop specific land use and cover data, primarily through vegetation analysis, water sampling, and socioeconomic studies. Using forest health monitoring protocols, researchers will monitor changes in forest conditions and compare them to national values.

Graeme Lockaby, codirector for the Center for Forest Sustainability at Auburn, agrees that the results will have far-reaching impacts. “We will be able to monitor changes as development occurs, determine which are positive or negative, and provide guidance on making development more compatible with the remaining forests.”

The long-term project will also involve participant research by maintaining close connections with residents, developers, and environmentalists as the study progresses, engaging their input in a “living and breathing” research effort.

For more information:

Wayne Zipperer at 352–376–4576 or wzipperer@fs.fed.us

Post-Katrina Analysis Aids Gulf Coast Recovery Efforts

Hurricane Katrina wrought devastating damage to the Gulf Coast region. The physical composition of tens of thousands of square miles, including forests and streams, was changed, with 100-percent loss of forest canopy cover in some areas and an average of 40 percent loss in most communities. As the recovery process continues, WUI Center researchers and American Forests, the nation’s oldest nonprofit citizens’ conservation organization, have partnered to analyze hurricane impacts to natural systems, with primary emphasis on wildfire susceptibility and the loss of ecosystem services. Analyses planned include measuring the risk of fire, based on fuels and conditions, to provide data to State foresters for a fire-risk management system. Additionally, researchers will use ecosystem analysis formulas to measure changes in stormwater management, air pollution removal, carbon storage, and carbon sequestration functions. The resulting data will be extremely useful to local decisionmakers during the rebuilding process.

“We want to better understand the impact on ecological services such as air and water quality, and determine the value of what has been lost,” explains Macie, who manages the cooperative agreement and is also an advisor to American Forests. “We will also have a better idea of the impact catastrophic events have on our ecosystem, and be able to more clearly communicate the need for emergency support funds to help with recovery efforts.”

The 2-year project, covering nearly 200 square miles, will use GIS data, satellite imagery, and aerial photos to detect land changes, assess the loss of tree canopy cover, and quantify the value of lost ecological services. GIS files that mirror the shape of a city or county will be used to provide an ecological analysis of existing land features and assist in determining future plans for rebuilding.

SRS researchers and collaborators are looking at how the transition of the St. Joe Company from timber to land development will affect the natural resources of the Florida Panhandle. (Photo by Rodney Kindlund, USDA Forest Service)

“We don’t make decisions for the community, although we will run rebuilding scenarios that they request,” says Gary Moll, vice president of the Urban Forests Center at American Forests. “Ultimately, we provide them with the data, tools, and training to look at areas, determine their ecosystem services, and decide how to mix those into the community.”

Local communities will have the training and data, in a usable and simplified desktop format, to rerun analyses with new data as needed. Study results should underscore the importance of local community involvement in restoration activities and provide insight to better plan communities to minimize and mitigate catastrophic events.

For more information:

Ed Macie at 404–347–1647 or emacie@fs.fed.us