MODELING AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TO EVALUATE THE BENEFITS OF COVER CROPPING UNDER CLIMATE AND LAND USE CHANGE

The major goal of this project is to quantify ecosystem health (EH) through computational modeling of ecosystem services (ES) with careful, ethically conscious selection of indicator variables. By incorporating diverse stakeholders' values and needs within a broad range of indicator variables, this project aims to facilitate credible communication between researchers, policymakers, industry groups, and landowners. To this end, we will carry out three objectives:Review past EH/ES modeling research to understand existing biases in indicator selection.Identify appropriate indicator variables by comparing the results of employing different indicator sets in an EH modeling case studyQuantify the EH impacts of climate change, land use change, and improved cover cropping practices