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Abstract Surface topography can influence flow pathways and the location of runoff source areas and water transport in steep headwater catchments. However, the influence of topography on spatial patterns of residual soil moisture is less well understood. We measured soil volumetric water content (VWC) on 14 dates at 0–30 and 30–60 cm depth at 54 sites on a steep, 10 ha north‐facing forested slope in the west‐central Cascades Mountains of Oregon, USA. Spatial patterns in VWC were persistent over time, and contrary to expectations VWC at 30–60 cm depth was greater on divergent than convergent slopes, especially during wet periods (R² = 0.27,p < 0.001). Vegetation characteristics were assessed for all VWC monitoring locations and soil properties were determined for 13 locations as local factors that affect spatial patterns in VWC. Mean VWC over all dates was negatively correlated to gravimetric rock content (R² = 0.28,p = 0.03) and positively correlated to water storage at field capacity (R² = 0.56,p < 0.01). The variability in rock content in quick‐draining soils influenced soil‐water retention, and by extension, created spatially heterogenous but temporally persistent patterns in VWC. While spatial patterns were persistent, they were not easily explained by surficial topography in a steep, mountainous landscape with rocky, well‐drained soils. Further research is needed to understand if combined soil‐terrain metrics would be a more useful proxy for VWC than terrain‐based wetness metrics alone. 

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 towards 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.