Priorities for synthesis research in ecology and environmental science

Abstract

Synthesis research in ecology and environmental science improves understanding, advances theory, identifies research priorities, and supports management strategies by linking data, ideas, and tools. Accelerating environmental challenges increases the need to focus synthesis science on the most pressing questions. To leverage input from the broader research community, we convened a virtual workshop with participants from many countries and disciplines to examine how and where synthesis can address key questions and themes in ecology and environmental science in the coming decade. Seven priority research topics emerged: (1) diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ), (2) human and natural systems, (3) actionable and use-inspired science, (4) scale, (5) generality, (6) complexity and resilience, and (7) predictability. Additionally, two issues regarding the general practice of synthesis emerged: the need for increased participant diversity and inclusive research practices; and increased and improved data flow, access, and skill-building. These topics and practices provide a strategic vision for future synthesis in ecology and environmental science.

Metadata

Authors/Creators:	Halpern, BS Boettiger, C Dietze, MC Gephart, JA Gonzalez, P Grimm, NB Groffman, PM Gurevitch, J Hobbie, SE Komatsu, KJ Kroeker, KJ Lahr, HJ Lodge, DM Lortie, CJ Lowndes, JSS Micheli, F Possingham, HP Ruckelshaus, MH Scarborough, C Wood, CL Wu, GC Aoyama, L Arroyo, EE Bahlai, CA Beller, EE Blake, RE Bork, KS Branch, TA Brown, NEM Brun, J Bruna, EM Buckley, LB Burnett, JL Castorani, MCN Cheng, SH Cohen, SC Couture, JL Crowder, LB Dee, LE Dias, AS Diaz-Maroto, IJ Downs, MR Dudney, JC Ellis, EC Emery, KA Eurich, JG Ferriss, BE Fredston, A Furukawa, H Gagné, SA Garlick, SR Garroway, CJ Gaynor, KM González, AL Grames, EM Guy-Haim, T Hackett, E Hallett, LM Harms, TK Haulsee, DE Haynes, KJ Hazen, EL Jarvis, RM Jones, K Kandlikar, GS Kincaid, DW Knope, ML Koirala, A Kolasa, J Kominoski, JS Koricheva, J Lancaster, LT Lawlor, JA Lowman, HE Muller-Karger, FE Norman, KEA Nourn, N O'Hara, CC Ou, SX Padilla-Gamino, JL Pappalardo, P Peek, RA Pelletier, D Plont, S Ponisio, LC Portales-Reyes, C Provete, DB Raes, EJ Ramirez-Reyes, C Ramos, I Record, S Richardson, AJ Salguero-Gómez, R Satterthwaite, EV Schmidt, C Schwartz, AJ See, CR Shea, BD Smith, RS Sokol, ER Solomon, CT Spanbauer, T Stefanoudis, PV Sterner, BW Sudbrack, V Tonkin, JD Townes, AR Valle, M Walter, JA Wheeler, KI Wieder, WR Williams, DR https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0379-1800 Winter, M Winterova, B Woodall, LC Wymore, AS Youngflesh, C
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© 2023 The Authors. Ecosphere published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords:	complexity; coupled systems; diversity; ecological scale; justice; predictability; use-inspired science
Dates:	Accepted: 20 September 2022 Published (online): 11 January 2023 Published: January 2023
Institution:	The University of Leeds
Academic Units:	The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Publications
Date Deposited:	22 Feb 2023 11:49
Last Modified:	22 Feb 2023 11:49
Status:	Published
Publisher:	Wiley
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4342

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Priorities for synthesis research in ecology and environmental science

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