Transitioning to Sustainability Through Research and Development on Ecosystem Services and Biofuels Workshop Summary (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix C: Descriptions of Agency Activities Presented at the Forum on Ecosystem Services and Sustainability
Appendix C: Descriptions of Agency Activities Presented at the Forum on Ecosystem Services and Sustainability
Pages 47-68
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From page 47... ...
C Descriptions of Agency Activities Presented at the Forum on Ecosystem Services and Sustainability1 1Presentations are available online at http://sustainability.nationalacademies. org/Forum.shtml 47
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USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center and USDA's Agricultural Research Service have also collaborated on a long term study to understand the potential of prairie pothole region wetlands to sequester carbon emitted into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. Results suggest that wetlands traditionally functioned as sinks for atmospheric carbon, but cultivation has shifted their function to be sources of atmospheric carbon.
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From page 49... ...
Our landscape scenarios will highlight four crop types under research for biofuel: corn, soybeans, switchgrass, and mixed prairie grasses. We will project landscape change under current climate, low climate change, and high climate change, as predicted by output from major global climate models.
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The basic modeling framework is based on the unique climatic drivers in the Prairie Pothole ecosystem and it will provide a transparent means of incorporating the best available scientific information into a decision support tool to facilitate consistent evaluations and forecasts of program performance by different agencies and other users. The following diagram is presented to illustrate our integrated approach.
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and university research scientists, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Farm Services Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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This project will take place in conjunction with the Alder Springs Fuels Reduction Stewardship Project and will monitor fuels management treatments in order to accomplish the following: • Quantify greenhouse gas emission reductions resulting from fuels man agement treatments • Evaluate and quantify potential revenues in current and future carbon markets • Evaluate potential for renewable energy credits and incentives associated with biomass energy production This project is of great relevance due to increasing interest in carbon management, renewable energy production, and because of the magnitude of National Forest System lands in need of fuels reduction treatments. The Forest Service is supporting this project in order to assess the potential for generating possible market incentives for fuels and forest health treatments, which would help extend landscape treatment capabilities.
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DESCRIBE ANY NOTABLE RESULTS, OUTCOMES OR IMPACTS TO DATE, IF ANY: None yet PERFORMERS/OTHER PARTNERS (FEDERAL, STATES, OR LOCAL) : Mendocino National Forest, Pacific Southwest Research Station, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, California Energy Commission, Winrock International, Wheelabrator Shasta Energy, Inc., Future Resources Associates, TSS Consultants, and Sierra Pacific Industries PROJECT PERIOD: Research work period: Spring 2007 – March 2009 Project work period: July 2007 – March 2009 Research finding to be published 2 to 3 years following project completion PARTNER FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED)
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As part of the ERP's community-based research, this project will identify and characterize ecosystem services in the Willamette River Basin, located in Oregon between the Cascade mountains and the Pacific Ocean. This basin is primarily in forest and agriculture (forests/ forestry comprises about 56%; agriculture is about 20% of land cover)
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EPA Region 10 office in Seattle, Washington, which has regulatory authority in the Willamette River Basin, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and local municipalities. Using these tools, decision makers can implement proactive policy and management decisions over time and at multiple scales.
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Soil carbon is relevant to food security, economic viability of farms, and climate change. Key issues to be addressed include how the management of agronomic inputs impacts soil carbon storage; how the maximum potential carbon storage of a soil can be estimated; how long it takes to attain the storage potential; how long it resides; what the regional differences are; how changes in the global environment, such as increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and weather patterns, impact soil carbon cycling; the role of the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of crop residue in greenhouse gas emissions; and the social and economic benefits associated with particular carbon management strategies.
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APPENDIX C 57 PROJECT PERIOD: Should begin in 2008 FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Proposed $1 million/year.
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In the past these mandates were pursued using science and governance mechanisms that were species or issuebased: a "Single Sector" approach. More recently, the Agency and its external stakeholder groups have advocated a more holistic approach to regional ecosystem governance and science that provides a more comprehensive view of marine ecosystem management: an "Ecosystem Approach." Advantages of Ecosystem Approach over Single Sector Management: • Provides a "big picture" of an ecosystem.
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What are IEAs? An Integrated Ecosystem Assessment is defined as "a formal synthesis and quantitative analysis of information on relevant physical, chemical, ecological and human factors in relation to specified ecosystem management objectives." It brings together citizens, industry representatives, scientists, and policy makers through formal processes to evaluate a range of policy and/or management actions on difficult environmental problems.
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A useful IEA must provide an efficient, transparent means of summarizing the status of ecosystem components, screening and prioritizing potential risks, and evaluating alternative management strategies against a backdrop of environmental (e.g., climatic, oceanographic, seasonal) variability.
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By iterating this model it is possible to build an empirical and modeling-based understanding of how the ecosystem responds to human pressures and to support adaptive learning and management schemes that achieve ecosystem objectives. DESCRIBE ANY NOTABLE RESULTS, OUTCOMES OR IMPACTS TO DATE, IF ANY: NOAA currently conducts several activities that will support future IEA development, and several small-scale integrated products are produced throughout the agency both routinely and on an ad-hoc basis.
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FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : Approximately half of NOAA's $1.2 billion Ecosystems Programs will support data collection and integration efforts that will be used in IEA development.
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Thematic Decision Support Tools • Users are accessing near real-time updates on fires, floods, red tides, and severe weather conditions (e.g., SERVIR was the central point for distributing international satellite imagery during and after Hur ricanes Dean and Felix this hurricane season)
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FUNDING LEVELS (CURRENT OR PROPOSED) : NASA five-year funding for SERVIR totals approximately $3 million dollars while USAID funding has exceeded $3.5 million.
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PROJECT/PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH) is a multidirectorate Program that promotes quantitative, interdisciplinary analyses of relevant human and natural system processes and complex interactions among human and natural systems at diverse scales.
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Current estimates suggest human activities have doubled the amount of biologically active nitrogen on a global basis, with agriculture accounting for 75 percent of the human-derived nitrogen. A complex set of environmental and socio-economic factors influence agricultural fertilizer management practices.
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Studying the relationships between these interactions and the resulting urban landscape patterns is critical for planning and managing urban growth in ways that minimize the ecological impacts on ecosystems while sustaining economically and socially viable urban communities. This research project will examine urban landscapes as emergent phenomena that result from local interactions of human agents, real estate markets, built infrastructure, and biophysical factors such as land cover, geomorphology, and natural disturbance regimes to develop a theory of urban landscape dynamics.
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This study will provide insights into the internal cultural dynamics of indigenous societies and how they influence, and are influenced by, biodiversity patterns and ecosystem function. The results will have important implications for human-environment interactions in Raposa and elsewhere where indigenous peoples retain an important presence.
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