Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene

Jacquelyn K Shuman¹, Jennifer K Balch², Rebecca T Barnes³, Philip E Higuera⁴, Christopher I Roos⁵, Dylan W Schwilk⁶, E Natasha Stavros², Tirtha Banerjee⁷, Megan M Bela^{8

9}, Jacob Bendix¹⁰, Sandro Bertolino¹¹, Solomon Bililign¹², Kevin D Bladon¹³, Paulo Brando¹⁴, Robert E Breidenthal¹⁵, Brian Buma¹⁶, Donna Calhoun¹⁷, Leila M V Carvalho¹⁸, Megan E Cattau¹⁹, Kaelin M Cawley²⁰, Sudeep Chandra²¹, Melissa L Chipman²², Jeanette Cobian-Iñiguez²³, Erin Conlisk²⁴, Jonathan D Coop²⁵, Alison Cullen²⁶, Kimberley T Davis⁴, Archana Dayalu²⁷, Fernando De Sales²⁸, Megan Dolman¹⁹, Lisa M Ellsworth²⁹, Scott Franklin³⁰, Christopher H Guiterman^{8

31}, Matthew Hamilton³², Erin J Hanan³³, Winslow D Hansen³⁴, Stijn Hantson³⁵, Brian J Harvey³⁶, Andrés Holz³⁷, Tao Huang¹⁹, Matthew D Hurteau³⁸, Nayani T Ilangakoon², Megan Jennings³⁹, Charles Jones¹⁸, Anna Klimaszewski-Patterson⁴⁰, Leda N Kobziar⁴¹, John Kominoski⁴², Branko Kosovic⁴³, Meg A Krawchuk⁴⁴, Paul Laris⁴⁵, Jackson Leonard⁴⁶, S Marcela Loria-Salazar⁴⁷, Melissa Lucash⁴⁸, Hussam Mahmoud⁴⁹, Ellis Margolis⁵⁰, Toby Maxwell⁵¹, Jessica L McCarty⁵², David B McWethy⁵³, Rachel S Meyer⁵⁴, Jessica R Miesel⁵⁵, W Keith Moser⁴⁶, R Chelsea Nagy², Dev Niyogi⁵⁶, Hannah M Palmer⁵⁷, Adam Pellegrini⁵⁸, Benjamin Poulter⁵⁹, Kevin Robertson⁶⁰, Adrian V Rocha⁶¹, Mojtaba Sadegh⁶², Fernanda Santos⁶³, Facundo Scordo^{64

65}, Joseph O Sexton⁶⁶, A Surjalal Sharma⁶⁷, Alistair M S Smith^{68

69}, Amber J Soja^{70

71}, Christopher Still⁴⁴, Tyson Swetnam⁷², Alexandra D Syphard⁷³, Morgan W Tingley⁷⁴, Ali Tohidi⁷⁵, Anna T Trugman¹⁸, Merritt Turetsky⁷⁶, J Morgan Varner⁶⁰, Yuhang Wang⁷⁷, Thea Whitman⁷⁸, Stephanie Yelenik⁷⁹, Xuan Zhang⁵⁷

Affiliations

¹ Terrestrial Sciences Section, Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000, USA.
² Earth Lab, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder,4001 Discovery Drive, Suite S348 611 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA.
³ Environmental Studies Program, Colorado College, 14 East Cache la Poudre, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, USA.
⁴ Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Dr., Missoula, MT, 59812, USA.
⁵ Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 750336, Dallas, TX, 75275-0336, USA.
⁶ Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, 2901 Main St. Lubbock, TX, 79409-43131, USA.
⁷ Samueli School of Engineering, University of California, 3084 Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building, UC Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
⁸ Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado at Boulder, 216 UCB, Boulder CO, 80309, USA.
⁹ NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Geography and the Environment, Syracuse University, 144 Eggers Hall, Syracuse NY 13244, USA.
¹¹ Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy.
¹² Department of Physics, North Carolina A&T State University, 1601 E Market Street, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA.
¹³ Department of Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management, Oregon State University, 244 Peavy Forest Science Center; Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.
¹⁴ Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, 3215 Croul Hall Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Washington, Box 352400, Seattle, WA 98195-2400, USA.
¹⁶ Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, Campus Box 171, P.O. Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Mathematics, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83725-1135, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Geography, University of California Santa Barbara, 1832 Ellison Hall, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
¹⁹ Human-Environment Systems, Boise State University, Boise State Environmental Research Building, 1295 W University Dr, Boise, ID 83706, USA.
²⁰ National Ecological Observatory Network, Battelle, 1685 38th St., Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
²¹ Global Water Center, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia, Reno, NV, 89509, USA.
²² Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Syracuse University, 317 Heroy Geology Building, 141 Crouse Dr, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA.
²³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Merced, Sustainability Research and Engineering, SRE 366, 5200 Lake Rd, Merced, CA 95343, USA.
²⁴ Point Blue Conservation Science, 3820 Cypress Dr, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA.
²⁵ Clark School of Environment and Sustainability, Western Colorado University, 1 Western Way, Gunnison CO 81231, USA.
²⁶ Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington, Parrington Hall, Mailbox 353055, Seattle, WA 98195-3055, USA.
²⁷ Atmospheric and Environmental Research, 131 Hartwell Ave, Lexington MA 02421, USA.
²⁸ Department of Geography, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4493, USA.
²⁹ Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA.
³⁰ School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, 501 20th Street, Greeley, CO 80639, USA.
³¹ NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), 325 Broadway, NOAA E/GC3, Boulder, Colorado 80305-3337, USA.
³² School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
³³ Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia St. Mail Stop 0186. Reno, NV 89509, USA.
³⁴ Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, PO Box AB, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA.
³⁵ Earth System Science Program, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Max Planck Tandem Group in Earth System Science, Universidad del Rosario, Carrera 26 # 63b-48, Bogota, DC 111221, Colombia.
³⁶ School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, UW-SEFS, Box 352100, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
³⁷ Department of Geography, Portland State University, 1721 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201, USA.
³⁸ Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, MSC03 2020, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
³⁹ Institute for Ecological Monitoring and Management, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4614, USA.
⁴⁰ Department of Geography, California State University Sacramento, 6000 J St, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA.
⁴¹ College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, 1031 N. Academic Way Coeur d'Alene, ID 83844, USA.
⁴² Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
⁴³ Weather Systems and Assessment Program, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000, USA.
⁴⁴ Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
⁴⁵ Department of Geography, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA.
⁴⁶ Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 2500 S. Pine Knoll Dr. Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USA.
⁴⁷ School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, 20 David L Boren Blvd, Norman, OK 73072, USA.
⁴⁸ Department of Geography, University of Oregon, 1251 University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403-1251, USA.
⁴⁹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, 1372 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
⁵⁰ U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, 15 Entrance Rd., Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA.
⁵¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, 1910 University Dr. Boise ID 83725, USA.
⁵² Department of Geography and Geospatial Analysis Center, Miami University, 217 Shideler Hall, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
⁵³ Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, 226 Traphagen Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
⁵⁴ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, 130 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
⁵⁵ Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, 1066 Bogue Street Rm A286, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA.
⁵⁶ Jackson School of Geosciences, and Cockrell School of Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2305 Speedway Stop C1160, Austin, TX 78712-1692, USA.
⁵⁷ Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, 5200 Lake Rd, Merced, CA 95343, USA.
⁵⁸ Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK.
⁵⁹ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
⁶⁰ Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, 13093 Henry Beadel Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32312, USA.
⁶¹ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 100 Campus Dr., Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
⁶² Department of Civil Engineering, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, USA.
⁶³ Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Road, P.O. Box 2008, MS-6038, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6038, USA.
⁶⁴ Global Water Center and the Department of Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia, Reno, NV, 89509, USA.
⁶⁵ Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (IADO-CONICET-UNS), Florida 8000, Bahía Blanca, B8000BFW Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁶⁶ terraPulse, Inc., 13201 Squires Ct., North Potomac, MD 20878, USA.
⁶⁷ Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, 4296 Stadium Dr., Astronomy Dept Room 1113, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
⁶⁸ Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences, College of Science, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive MS 3021, Moscow ID, 83843-3021, USA.
⁶⁹ Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Science, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive MS 1133, Moscow, ID 83844-1133, USA.
⁷⁰ NASA Langley Research Center, NASA, 2 Langley Blvd, Hampton, VA 23681, USA.
⁷¹ National Institute of Aerospace, NASA, 100 Exploration Way, Hampton, VA 23666, USA.
⁷² Data Science Institute, University of Arizona, 1657 E Helen St, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
⁷³ Conservation Biology Institute, 10423 Sierra Vista Ave., La Mesa, CA, 91941, USA.
⁷⁴ Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E Young Dr S #951606, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
⁷⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, San Jose State University, Room 310-K, ENG Building, 1 Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95112, USA.
⁷⁶ Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Campus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA.
⁷⁷ School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
⁷⁸ Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1525 Observatory Dr., Madison, WI 53711, USA.
⁷⁹ Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 920 Valley Road, Reno NV, 89512, USA.

PMID: 36741468
PMCID: PMC9896919
DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac115

Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene

Jacquelyn K Shuman et al. PNAS Nexus. 2022.

. 2022 Aug 4;1(3):pgac115.

doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac115. eCollection 2022 Jul.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Terrestrial Sciences Section, Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000, USA.
² Earth Lab, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder,4001 Discovery Drive, Suite S348 611 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA.
³ Environmental Studies Program, Colorado College, 14 East Cache la Poudre, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, USA.
⁴ Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Dr., Missoula, MT, 59812, USA.
⁵ Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 750336, Dallas, TX, 75275-0336, USA.
⁶ Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, 2901 Main St. Lubbock, TX, 79409-43131, USA.
⁷ Samueli School of Engineering, University of California, 3084 Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building, UC Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
⁸ Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado at Boulder, 216 UCB, Boulder CO, 80309, USA.
⁹ NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Geography and the Environment, Syracuse University, 144 Eggers Hall, Syracuse NY 13244, USA.
¹¹ Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy.
¹² Department of Physics, North Carolina A&T State University, 1601 E Market Street, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA.
¹³ Department of Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management, Oregon State University, 244 Peavy Forest Science Center; Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.
¹⁴ Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, 3215 Croul Hall Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Washington, Box 352400, Seattle, WA 98195-2400, USA.
¹⁶ Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, Campus Box 171, P.O. Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Mathematics, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83725-1135, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Geography, University of California Santa Barbara, 1832 Ellison Hall, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
¹⁹ Human-Environment Systems, Boise State University, Boise State Environmental Research Building, 1295 W University Dr, Boise, ID 83706, USA.
²⁰ National Ecological Observatory Network, Battelle, 1685 38th St., Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
²¹ Global Water Center, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia, Reno, NV, 89509, USA.
²² Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Syracuse University, 317 Heroy Geology Building, 141 Crouse Dr, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA.
²³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Merced, Sustainability Research and Engineering, SRE 366, 5200 Lake Rd, Merced, CA 95343, USA.
²⁴ Point Blue Conservation Science, 3820 Cypress Dr, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA.
²⁵ Clark School of Environment and Sustainability, Western Colorado University, 1 Western Way, Gunnison CO 81231, USA.
²⁶ Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington, Parrington Hall, Mailbox 353055, Seattle, WA 98195-3055, USA.
²⁷ Atmospheric and Environmental Research, 131 Hartwell Ave, Lexington MA 02421, USA.
²⁸ Department of Geography, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4493, USA.
²⁹ Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA.
³⁰ School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, 501 20th Street, Greeley, CO 80639, USA.
³¹ NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), 325 Broadway, NOAA E/GC3, Boulder, Colorado 80305-3337, USA.
³² School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
³³ Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia St. Mail Stop 0186. Reno, NV 89509, USA.
³⁴ Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, PO Box AB, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA.
³⁵ Earth System Science Program, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Max Planck Tandem Group in Earth System Science, Universidad del Rosario, Carrera 26 # 63b-48, Bogota, DC 111221, Colombia.
³⁶ School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, UW-SEFS, Box 352100, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
³⁷ Department of Geography, Portland State University, 1721 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201, USA.
³⁸ Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, MSC03 2020, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
³⁹ Institute for Ecological Monitoring and Management, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4614, USA.
⁴⁰ Department of Geography, California State University Sacramento, 6000 J St, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA.
⁴¹ College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, 1031 N. Academic Way Coeur d'Alene, ID 83844, USA.
⁴² Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
⁴³ Weather Systems and Assessment Program, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000, USA.
⁴⁴ Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
⁴⁵ Department of Geography, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA.
⁴⁶ Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 2500 S. Pine Knoll Dr. Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USA.
⁴⁷ School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, 20 David L Boren Blvd, Norman, OK 73072, USA.
⁴⁸ Department of Geography, University of Oregon, 1251 University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403-1251, USA.
⁴⁹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, 1372 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
⁵⁰ U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, 15 Entrance Rd., Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA.
⁵¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, 1910 University Dr. Boise ID 83725, USA.
⁵² Department of Geography and Geospatial Analysis Center, Miami University, 217 Shideler Hall, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
⁵³ Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, 226 Traphagen Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
⁵⁴ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, 130 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
⁵⁵ Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, 1066 Bogue Street Rm A286, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA.
⁵⁶ Jackson School of Geosciences, and Cockrell School of Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2305 Speedway Stop C1160, Austin, TX 78712-1692, USA.
⁵⁷ Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, 5200 Lake Rd, Merced, CA 95343, USA.
⁵⁸ Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK.
⁵⁹ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
⁶⁰ Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, 13093 Henry Beadel Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32312, USA.
⁶¹ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 100 Campus Dr., Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
⁶² Department of Civil Engineering, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, USA.
⁶³ Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Road, P.O. Box 2008, MS-6038, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6038, USA.
⁶⁴ Global Water Center and the Department of Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia, Reno, NV, 89509, USA.
⁶⁵ Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (IADO-CONICET-UNS), Florida 8000, Bahía Blanca, B8000BFW Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁶⁶ terraPulse, Inc., 13201 Squires Ct., North Potomac, MD 20878, USA.
⁶⁷ Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, 4296 Stadium Dr., Astronomy Dept Room 1113, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
⁶⁸ Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences, College of Science, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive MS 3021, Moscow ID, 83843-3021, USA.
⁶⁹ Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Science, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive MS 1133, Moscow, ID 83844-1133, USA.
⁷⁰ NASA Langley Research Center, NASA, 2 Langley Blvd, Hampton, VA 23681, USA.
⁷¹ National Institute of Aerospace, NASA, 100 Exploration Way, Hampton, VA 23666, USA.
⁷² Data Science Institute, University of Arizona, 1657 E Helen St, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
⁷³ Conservation Biology Institute, 10423 Sierra Vista Ave., La Mesa, CA, 91941, USA.
⁷⁴ Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E Young Dr S #951606, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
⁷⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, San Jose State University, Room 310-K, ENG Building, 1 Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95112, USA.
⁷⁶ Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Campus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA.
⁷⁷ School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
⁷⁸ Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1525 Observatory Dr., Madison, WI 53711, USA.
⁷⁹ Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 920 Valley Road, Reno NV, 89512, USA.

PMID: 36741468
PMCID: PMC9896919
DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac115

Abstract

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.

Keywords: climate change; resilience; social–ecological systems; wildfire; wildland–urban interface.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of National Academy of Sciences 2022.

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Figures

**Fig. 1.**
We need a proactive fire research agenda to support human values and create safe communities as impacts from lightning and unplanned human-caused wildfires increase in the Anthropocene. Such an agenda will span multiple disciplines and translate understanding to application while answering fundamental science questions, incorporating diverse and inclusive partnerships for knowledge coproduction, capitalizing on the wealth of new and existing data, and developing models that integrate human dimensions and values.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene

Affiliations

Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene

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Affiliations

Abstract

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