Management decisions made by agricultural landowners and producers impact not only the food, fiber, ornamental plants, and fuel products of agriculture but also ecosystem goods and services, such as nutrient cycling, the circulation of water, regulation of atmospheric composition, and soil formation. Research emphasis must be placed on the interaction between agricultural production practices and their regional and global impacts.

 

Our areas of scientific focus are:

• Assessing the capacity of agricultural systems to deliver ecosystem services, including trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services

 

• Reducing the level of inputs and improving the resource use efficiency of agricultural production

 

• Enhancing internal ecosystem services (e.g., nutrient cycling, pest control, and pollination) that support production outcomes so that chemical inputs can be reduced

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• Developing ecologically-sound livestock and waste management production systems and technologies

 

• Developing systems-oriented and science-based policy and regulation for sustainable agricultural systems

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