Growing convergence research: Coproducing climate projections to inform proactive decisions for managing simultaneous...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Climate Science
• Ecology

Background:

• Wildfire risk in the United States poses a significant long-term challenge requiring proactive management strategies.
• Existing approaches often lack the interdisciplinary integration and stakeholder engagement necessary for effective solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply a convergence research approach to address the urgent societal problem of long-term wildfire risk in the US.
• To foster deep integration across disciplines and engage stakeholders for effective wildfire risk management.

Main Methods:

• A convergence research approach integrating climate science, fire science, landscape ecology, and decision science.
• Bridging spatial and temporal scale divides through interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Partnering with governmental, tribal, and local stakeholders to coproduce decision support information.

Main Results:

• Coproduced visualizations and decision support tools projecting changes in competing fires, fire danger days, and fire season length/overlap.
• Information directly integrated into existing operational and policy-making tools.
• Demonstrated impact and value through initiated continuing phases of work.

Conclusions:

• Convergence research provides a robust framework for addressing complex societal problems like wildfire risk.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration and stakeholder engagement are crucial for developing actionable wildfire preparedness and management strategies.
• The developed decision support tools offer valuable projections for proactive land and fire management across multiple US regions.