This $642,666 National Science Foundation Division of Polar Programs project grant will fund research into fire-biotic disturbance interactions and their sensitivity to climate change in the North American boreal biome. The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Inc. will use computer simulations to better understand the impacts and threats of new pests, herbivores, and diseases in Alaskan boreal forests, and how these disturbances may interact with fire and climate to alter carbon storage. The boreal biome stores approximately 30% of global terrestrial carbon, but increasing disturbances like more frequent forest fires are combusting legacy carbon and altering post-fire forest regeneration in ways that could impact long-term carbon sequestration. This research aims to develop a framework to model new biotic disturbance impacts and interactions, applying it to climate and disturbance scenarios to test effects on ecosystem carbon and successional trajectories at landscape scales under current and future conditions. The research is aligned with the goals of the NSF Division of Polar Programs to strengthen understanding of polar regions through basic research best or only conducted in these environments.