The boreal biome is rapidly warming, causing increased forest fire activity

This is important BECAUSE30% of all terrestrial carbon stocks are stored in boreal forests, most of IT in deep surface organic soils.fires threaten to emit vast amounts of this carbon to the atmosphere, which would set back globalclimate-mitigation efforts. Unlike in the western united states, where the focus is on restoring healthyfire regimes after a century of suppression, momentum is rapidly growing to protect boreal carbon bystrategically suppressing fires. However, IT remains poorly resolved whether and where this strategy willreduce carbon emissions relative to other approaches. We will address this knowledge GAP in interioralaska by synthesizing geospatial datasets with machine learning and by using a process-based forestlandscape model to test management strategies across spatially heterogeneous landscapes.2. Objectivesthe objective is to equip our agency partners at the united states (US) fish and wildlife service, broaderstakeholders, such as the environmental defense fund (EDF), and indigenous rights holders with insightsto underpin management strategies that maximize carbon storage. We will ask: 1) how is forest carbondistributed across interior alaska, where and why is forest carbon most at risk of burning today, and howwill that risk change in the near future? 2.) how might carbon stocks recover after fire over the nextcentury and what factors will shape trajectories within and across landscapes? And 3) how do multiplemanagement strategies following the resist, accept, direct framework compare in their ability to protectcarbon under current and future climate? Management strategies will be CO-developed with stakeholdersand include fire suppression (resist), no management (accept), and assisted transition (direct). We willproduce carbon-loss risk maps and 21ST-century landscape projections under the management scenarios. We will present results online and in person at events hosted by the alaska fire science consortium, EDF, and cary institute of ecosystem studies to reach local, national, and international stakeholders. Wewill also present at professional conferences and publish in peer reviewed journals.