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EPA's future midwestern landscapes (FML) study
Citation:
BRUINS, R. J. EPA's future midwestern landscapes (FML) study. Presented at Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Meeting, Tucson, AR, July 25 - 30, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
Future scenarios will contrast the current path (i.e., the incentivized ramp-up of biofuel production, initially emphasizing corn starch ethanol) with an alternative path in which land uses producing a wider range of services are hypothetically incentivized. Scenario-related changes in carbon balance, soil productivity, hydrology, water quality, wildlife habitat and air quality will be assessed. A web-based decision-support tool is planned that will construct maps showing interscenario comparisons of produced services, according to user-weighted service indices. The tool will highlight opportunities for conservation and will lower service trading-related transaction costs. Challenges to be overcome in project design involve the linkage of multiple ecological models over a large geographic area and the determination of appropriate valuation methods for each ecosystem service.
Description:
EPA's ecological research program is initiating research to characterize ecosystem services and enable their routine consideration in environmental management and policy. The "Future Midwestern Landscapes (FML) Study" is one of four place-based studies being planned. Over a 13-state area of the Midwest, for a baseline year and at least two alternative future scenarios, FML will construct detailed land use/land cover maps and characterize a variety of services.