FORT Science in Action 2026, Part 8: Rapid response science summary products to support natural resource managers
Natural resource managers often look to summary and synthesis products to find the science they need for decision making. However, decision timelines are often short, so there is a need to produce such products quickly. In 2026, a FORT team developed a process and software, KWICer, to meet that need.
Science can help natural resource managers make more effective, defensible decisions, but locating and accessing relevant science can be a challenge. Science summary and synthesis products like literature reviews and annotated bibliographies help condense large bodies of science into single packages, making it easier for managers to find and use science in their decisions. However, such products can be time-consuming to produce, and there is a need to be able to easily update them over time, especially for rapidly expanding research fields.
A new tool for rapid science synthesis
In 2026, FORT researchers published KWICer, a software that integrates keyword in context (KWIC) text analysis with structured literature searches to rapidly produce annotated bibliographies of large bodies of science. These bibliographies contain a list of publications relevant to a specific management question, along with information about each study, including how often user-specified keywords appear in each text. In addition, the software produces visual summaries of the entire dataset, like the frequency of different locations and ecosystems referenced across the bibliography. Last, published bibliographies contain full search strings developed for the specific management question, so that others can quickly reproduce the literature search to find newer publications.
A series of products relevant to resource managers
Since the software’s publication this spring, the FORT research team has used this process to produce multiple annotated bibliographies for different natural resource issues. All topics were scoped carefully with interagency teams of natural resource managers and scientists, to ensure bibliographies are relevant to managers’ needs and contain science that can answer managers’ questions.
- Effects of traffic on the establishment and spread of invasive annual grasses– this annotated bibliography includes 88 publications on the potential effects of traffic from oil and gas development on invasive grasses of management concern, including cheatgrass, Ventenata dubia, and medusahead. Researchers quantified terms related to habitat type, environmental conditions, disturbance type, species, location and methodology in the main text of each publication.
- Effects of fire and post-fire management on soil condition and stability in North America – this annotated bibliography includes 322 publications. Researchers quantified terms related to habitat type, environmental conditions, disturbance type, fire, emergency stabilization and rehabilitation (ES&R), soil attributes and degradation, mitigation methods, restoration, invasive plant species, location and methodology in each publication.
- Effects of vegetation and soils surface disturbance and reclamation on invasive annual grasses – this annotated bibliography includes 171 publications on the topic of the potential effects of vegetation and soils surface disturbance and reclamation associated with oil and gas development on invasive annual grass establishment and spread. Researchers quantified terms related to habitat type, environmental conditions, disturbance type, species, location and methodology in each publication.
More FORT Science in Action
This September, FORT is highlighting how our science projects support sound decision-making. Each day, we will highlight a new project and its applications. To see more, follow the tabs below.
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KWIC Science: Rapid response products to meet resource managers’ priority science needs
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