Southern Urban and Interface Forests - What's New

This fall the Southern Fire Exchange (http://www.southernfireexchange.org/), a Joint Fire Science sponsored program dedicated to providing the latest fire science information to communities and practitioners across the South, will present a series of webinars on topics related to wildland fire and natural resource management.  The current schedule is as follows: 
 

Using the Southern Fire Exchange Resource Center
September 28, 2011, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Eastern
 
Using Smoke Prediction Models for Prescribed Burning Planning
October 19, 2011, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Eastern
 
Prescribed Fire and the Public: Myths and Realities
November 16, 2011, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Eastern
 
Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System
December 14, 2011, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Eastern
 
To register and/or learn more about these webinars visit:
http://www.southernfireexchange.org/ProDev/Webinars.html
 
For updates from the Southern Fire Exchange, follow their Twitter account:
http://twitter.com/SEFireScience

This new publication, jointly developed by InterfaceSouth and the Unversity of Florida IFAS, can help you select shrubs for your landscape, particularly for homes in the southern United States.

To view this publication, click here.

InterfaceSouth recently developed a fact sheet about research conducted by the Southern Research Station and the National Institute of Standards and Technology that demonstrated that wildfire prevention education pays for itself many times over in the state of Florida. Wildfire prevention education aims to teach the public about the dangers of accidentally igniting fires, with the expectation that these activities will lead to fewer wildfires.

To view this fact sheet visit:
https://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/products/fact-sheets/economic-benefits/the-economic-benefits-of-wildfire-prevention-education/index_html

In our latest InterfaceSouth Update we focus on recent research, news, literature, websites, and events related to fire in the interface.

Researchers at the U.S. Forest Service, University of Florida, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducted a shrub flammability study of 34 southern shrub species using three different flammability categories to indicate how easily and intensely each shrub will burn: high, moderate, and low. The 34 shrubs shown here were selected for testing based on responses to a survey from fire professionals across the southern United States. View videos of this research in our new video section.

Researchers from the US Forest Service - Southern Research Station (SRS-4952), the University of Florida and the National Institute of Standards and Technology conducted a flammability study of four mulches commonly used around homes: pine straw, shredded cypress, small pine bark and large pine bark. View videos of this research here.