SUSTAINING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES THROUGH A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Through the following objectives, our project will create an integrated decision-support system (DSS)-mental model framework that (once validated by larger studies and in different systems) can ultimately inform future DSS creation. Objective 1: Model ecosystem service outcomes under different management and climate scenarios to produce visual DSS outputs (used in Objective 2) and better understand ecosystem service response to local and global change. Objective 2: Describe and compare the mental models (conceptual representations of an object or tool) of DSS creators and users with ecosystem service estimates under different scenarios in the case study groundwater basin (GMD2). Objective 3: Develop a framework linking mental models to DSS processes and outputs to a) recommend best practices for DSS creators and b) describe hypothesized relationships that will be the basis for a NIFA AFRI Standard proposal in FY2024.