New Zealand Rural Fire Research Workshop 2008

 “Engaging Fire Managers with Science”

9-10 April 2008
Scion, Rotorua

The Scion Rural Fire Research Group, in conjunction with the National Rural Fire Authority, Department of Conservation, NZ Defence Force and NZ Forest Owners Association, is hosting a second Rural Fire Research Workshop at the Scion campus in Rotorua on 9 and 10 April 2008. This workshop will build on the success of the first workshop held in Christchurch in October 2006, and will focus on presenting research results to attendees.

The aims of the workshop are:

• To present the latest progress in rural fire research in New Zealand to the rural fire management community.
• To ensure that research outcomes are embraced by fire managers.
• To ensure that the needs and priorities of fire managers are being satisfied by the Scion Rural Fire Research programme.
• To encourage fire managers to actively participate in the direction and scope of fire research activities being undertaken by Scion.

The programme is in the final stages of being confirmed, with the following sessions:

1. Social Research – guest speaker Pam Jakes (US Forest Service), on sabbatical with Scion for 6 months, will talk on social fire research initiatives and how these link with fire management in the USA. Results from social fire research projects in NZ will also be presented, including projects on community recovery from wildfires and communication of fire danger warnings.
2. Pine Plantation Fire Management and Behaviour – guest speaker Miguel Cruz (CSIRO, Australia) will talk on pine plantation fire behaviour modelling, crown fire thresholds and research needs for pine plantation fire management. He will also present a case study of a major (10,000ha) pine plantation wildfire in New South Wales in 2006. A case study of a significant recent NZ pine plantation wildfire will also be presented.
3. Tussock Fire Research – outcomes from the Otago Tussock Fire Ecology Research Project (co-presented by Ian Payton, Landcare Research), and progress with a Scion project in the Central North Island investigating fuel load recovery in tussock grasslands following fire.
4. Fire Suppression Technology and Tools – progress on research into monitoring firefighter workload and productivity, and the development of a software calculator for fire management applications.
5. Fire Weather and Fire Danger Rating – a summary of recent climate and fire weather research findings (including the impact of climate change on future fire danger in New Zealand), fuel moisture and fire development in gorse scrub, and development of a users’ guide to the NZ Fire Danger Rating System.
6. Fire Statistics – a summary of results from a recent project analysing long-term national and regional wildfire statistics in New Zealand.
7. Project Vesta – guest speaker Phil Cheney (Honorary Research Fellow, CSIRO, Australia) will present the results from the completion of this major Australian project into fire behaviour in Eucalypt forests, carried out in Western Australia. The findings from these experiments are significant for fire behaviour and management, and have relevance across all fuel types.

Time has been incorporated into each session to allow for discussion and questions by workshop attendees.

The Scion campus is situated in Rotorua off Sala Street, near the Whakarewarewa Forest. There are a range of accommodation options in Rotorua, the NZ Fire Service/National Rural Fire Authority use the Regal Palms Motor Lodge and Rydges Hotel which have limited rooms available for $100 a night. The workshop will commence with registration and morning tea at 0930 on Wednesday 9 April, and conclude around 1500 on Thursday 10 April.

In order to arrange facilities and catering, please confirm your attendance to Abi Davidson at the National Rural Fire Authority by email ( ) or telephone (04 496 3688) before the close of business on Friday 28 March 2008.

  Download Workshop Programme  [12 Kb PDF]

  Download Workshop Poster  [103 Kb PDF]