We propose a workshop in 2002 at the University of Arizona to discuss the current state of knowledge on fire and its linkages between climate and ecosystem change. Such discussion requires a concerted and collaborative effort among traditionally independent disciplines. We will identify the research needs that will lead to a network of fire-proxy records with decadal or annual time resolution. The coverage of dendrochronological, sediment records is incomplete in the mid-latitude forests of western North and South America and there is a need for precisely dated and inter-correlated time series. Records that span several millennia, based on charcoal records from sediment cores, are also necessary to study the fire response to both abrupt and slowly varying components of the climate system. The workshop will also consider methods and interpretations among and within fire-history disciplines. Additional modern data sets are necessary, and their calibration with instrumental and historical records need to be improved. Model development and data/model comparisons will also be encouraged. Climate models, fire models, and ecosystem models provide tools for predicting climatic patterns in the past and future, the likelihood of fire under different climate scenarios, and the range of biotic responses that may ensue. The relation between climate variations and natural disturbance and their joint influence on biosphere interactions are critical issues in earth system history, and the management of fire and forest ecosystems. Recent increases in biomass burning threaten to disrupt ecosystem processes, including the cycling of carbon and oxygen. Moreover, increases in particle emission and transport set up feedbacks in the climate system that may accelerate rates of climate change. Our understanding of these relations rests on refining the interpretation of high-resolution proxy records, acquiring new proxy records from critical data-poor regions, and developing a global network of sites that spans a range of temporal and spatial scales. Improved understanding of fire and climate history is also essential for strategic planning of prescribed burning and for fire suppression readiness.