Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene

Jacquelyn K Shuman; Jennifer K Balch; Rebecca T Barnes; Philip E Higuera; Christopher I Roos; Dylan W Schwilk; E Natasha Stavros; Tirtha Banerjee; Megan M Bela; Jacob Bendix; Sandro Bertolino; Solomon Bililign; Kevin D Bladon; Paulo Brando; Robert E Breidenthal; Brian Buma; Donna Calhoun; Leila M V Carvalho; Megan E Cattau; Kaelin M Cawley; Sudeep Chandra; Melissa L Chipman; Jeanette Cobian-Iñiguez; Erin Conlisk; Jonathan D Coop; Alison Cullen; Kimberley T Davis; Archana Dayalu; Fernando De Sales; Megan Dolman; Lisa M Ellsworth; Scott Franklin; Christopher H Guiterman; Matthew Hamilton; Erin J Hanan; Winslow D Hansen; Stijn Hantson; Brian J Harvey; Andrés Holz; Tao Huang; Matthew D Hurteau; Nayani T Ilangakoon; Megan Jennings; Charles Jones; Anna Klimaszewski-Patterson; Leda N Kobziar; John Kominoski; Branko Kosovic; Meg A Krawchuk; Paul Laris; Jackson Leonard; S Marcela Loria-Salazar; Melissa Lucash; Hussam Mahmoud; Ellis Margolis; Toby Maxwell; Jessica L McCarty; David B McWethy; Rachel S Meyer; Jessica R Miesel; W Keith Moser; R Chelsea Nagy; Dev Niyogi; Hannah M Palmer; Adam Pellegrini; Benjamin Poulter; Kevin Robertson; Adrian V Rocha; Mojtaba Sadegh; Fernanda Santos; Facundo Scordo; Joseph O Sexton; A Surjalal Sharma; Alistair M S Smith; Amber J Soja; Christopher Still; Tyson Swetnam; Alexandra D Syphard; Morgan W Tingley; Ali Tohidi; Anna T Trugman; Merritt Turetsky; J Morgan Varner; Yuhang Wang; Thea Whitman; Stephanie Yelenik; Xuan Zhang; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac115

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Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene

Jacquelyn K Shuman, Jennifer K Balch, Rebecca T Barnes, Philip E Higuera, Christopher I Roos, Dylan W Schwilk, E Natasha Stavros, Tirtha Banerjee, Megan M Bela, Jacob Bendix, …

PNAS nexus, Vol.1(3), pp.pgac115-pgac115

07/01/2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac115

PMID: 36741468

Abstract

social–ecological systems

wildland–urban interface

resilience

wildfire

climate change

Fire is an integral component of ecosystems globally and a tool that humans have harnessed for millennia. Altered fire regimes are a fundamental cause and consequence of global change, impacting people and the biophysical systems on which they depend. As part of the newly emerging Anthropocene, marked by human-caused climate change and radical changes to ecosystems, fire danger is increasing, and fires are having increasingly devastating impacts on human health, infrastructure, and ecosystem services. Increasing fire danger is a vexing problem that requires deep transdisciplinary, trans-sector, and inclusive partnerships to address. Here, we outline barriers and opportunities in the next generation of fire science and provide guidance for investment in future research. We synthesize insights needed to better address the long-standing challenges of innovation across disciplines to (i) promote coordinated research efforts; (ii) embrace different ways of knowing and knowledge generation; (iii) promote exploration of fundamental science; (iv) capitalize on the "firehose" of data for societal benefit; and (v) integrate human and natural systems into models across multiple scales. Fire science is thus at a critical transitional moment. We need to shift from observation and modeled representations of varying components of climate, people, vegetation, and fire to more integrative and predictive approaches that support pathways toward mitigating and adapting to our increasingly flammable world, including the utilization of fire for human safety and benefit. Only through overcoming institutional silos and accessing knowledge across diverse communities can we effectively undertake research that improves outcomes in our more fiery future.

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Title: Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene
Creators: Jacquelyn K Shuman - NOAA Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory
Jennifer K Balch - University of Colorado Boulder
Rebecca T Barnes - Colorado College
Philip E Higuera - University of Montana
Christopher I Roos - Southern Methodist University
Dylan W Schwilk - Texas Tech University
E Natasha Stavros - University of Colorado Boulder
Tirtha Banerjee - Samueli Institute
Megan M Bela - Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
Jacob Bendix - Syracuse University
Sandro Bertolino - Accademia Albertina delle Belle Arti
Solomon Bililign - North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Kevin D Bladon - Oregon State University
Paulo Brando - University of California, Irvine
Robert E Breidenthal - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Brian Buma - University of Colorado Denver
Donna Calhoun - Boise State University
Leila M V Carvalho - University of California, Santa Barbara
Megan E Cattau - Boise State University
Kaelin M Cawley - National Ecological Observatory Network
Sudeep Chandra - University of Nevada Reno
Melissa L Chipman - Syracuse University
Jeanette Cobian-Iñiguez - University of California, Merced
Erin Conlisk - Point Blue Conservation Science
Jonathan D Coop - Western State Colorado University
Alison Cullen - University of Washington
Kimberley T Davis - University of Montana
Archana Dayalu - Atmospheric and Environmental Research
Fernando De Sales - San Diego State University
Megan Dolman - Boise State University
Lisa M Ellsworth - Oregon State University
Scott Franklin - University of Northern Colorado
Christopher H Guiterman - Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
Matthew Hamilton - The Ohio State University
Erin J Hanan - University of Nevada Reno
Winslow D Hansen - Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Stijn Hantson - Universidad del Rosario
Brian J Harvey - University of Washington
Andrés Holz - Portland State University
Tao Huang - Boise State University
Matthew D Hurteau - University of New Mexico
Nayani T Ilangakoon - University of Colorado Boulder
Megan Jennings - San Diego State University
Charles Jones - University of California, Santa Barbara
Anna Klimaszewski-Patterson - California State University, Sacramento
Leda N Kobziar - University of Idaho
John Kominoski - Florida International University
Branko Kosovic - National Center for Atmospheric Research
Meg A Krawchuk - Oregon State University
Paul Laris - California State University, Long Beach
Jackson Leonard - Rocky Mountain Research
S Marcela Loria-Salazar - University of Oklahoma
Melissa Lucash - University of Oregon
Hussam Mahmoud - Colorado State University
Ellis Margolis - United States Geological Survey
Toby Maxwell - Boise State University
Jessica L McCarty - Miami University
David B McWethy - Montana State University
Rachel S Meyer - University of California, Santa Cruz
Jessica R Miesel - Michigan State University
W Keith Moser - Rocky Mountain Research
R Chelsea Nagy - University of Colorado Boulder
Dev Niyogi - The University of Texas at Austin
Hannah M Palmer - University of California, Merced
Adam Pellegrini - University of Cambridge
Benjamin Poulter - Goddard Space Flight Center
Kevin Robertson - Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy
Adrian V Rocha - University of Notre Dame
Mojtaba Sadegh - Boise State University
Fernanda Santos - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Facundo Scordo - University of Nevada Reno
Joseph O Sexton - TerraMetrics
A Surjalal Sharma - University of Maryland, College Park
Alistair M S Smith - University of Idaho
Amber J Soja - Langley Research Center
Christopher Still - Oregon State University
Tyson Swetnam - University of Arizona
Alexandra D Syphard - Marine Conservation Institute
Morgan W Tingley - University of California, Los Angeles
Ali Tohidi - San Jose State University
Anna T Trugman - University of California, Santa Barbara
Merritt Turetsky - Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
J Morgan Varner - Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy
Yuhang Wang - Georgia Institute of Technology
Thea Whitman - University of Wisconsin–Madison
Stephanie Yelenik - Rocky Mountain Research Station
Xuan Zhang - University of California, Merced
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Publication Details: PNAS nexus, Vol.1(3), pp.pgac115-pgac115
Identifiers: 996649343501851
Academic Unit: Natural Resources and Society
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article