Overview
Synthesis is a critical part of understanding complex ecological systems. It is only rarely supported or carried out, since most researchers need to publish papers as quickly as possible. The National Science Foundation has created a new program OPUS, Opportunities to Promote Understanding through Synthesis) to specifically support synthesis activities and writing for researchers in their mid- to late-career.
In 2005, I was awarded an OPUS grant to synthesis over two decades of forest canopy research in tropical and temperate wet forests. The results include scientific papers, a scholarly/popular book, a web-accessible set of lectures and graphics on canopy studies, and a set of collaborations for outreach that disseminates the synthesis messages that developed.