Intensive agricultural production contributes to nutrient pollution in many of the world’s most economically and ecologically valuable watersheds. While these agricultural practices pollute and threaten downstream waters, they also provide significant economic benefits to landowners, although not necessarily to farmers. Federal, state and local governments have turned to a variety of policies to reduce nutrient pollution but at the same time keep the economic benefits. The merits of these policies are a combination of 1) the program cost, 2) the behavioral responses of farmers and landowners to the policy, and 3) the environmental impacts of land use and management changes that result from each policy. As watersheds experience environmental changes, management strategies and policies that work to reduce nutrient pollution today may not be as effective in the future. This study will advance knowledge on the dynamics of socio-environmental systems by 1) describing how environmental and human systems function and interact, 2) developing behavioral models of farmer responses to agricultural policy, and 3) assessing agricultural management impacts on ecosystem services (for example, clean water and flood protection) under current conditions and future sea level scenarios. The models to be developed will simulate how field-level changes in land use and management could translate to watershed-level changes in nutrient pollution. We will use environmental laboratory experiments to measure whether the intrusion of saltwater predicted with sea level rise alters the effectiveness of biological processes at reducing nutrient pollution. The human systems approach, through the use of surveys and economics laboratory experiments, will quantify how different policies alter land use (for example, switching from agriculture to fallow land), how incentive programs can reduce voluntary best management practices, and how highly visible changes to environmental quality (for example, algal blooms) change perceptions about land management decisions and ecosystem health (for the farmer, community, or general public). This study addresses how environmental change (that is, salinization and sea level rise) modifies nutrient pollution in ways that shape human decisions on managing agricultural systems. This work also examines how decisions that support sustainable agriculture will ensure that rural regional economies support a diverse population and promote healthy ecosystems. This work seeks to benefit society through classroom content that focus on integrated socio-environmental systems across K12, undergraduate and graduate school levels. This work also supports “Community Learning Exchangesâ€, a program in which students, teachers, families, and community members engage in educational activities and conversations surrounding the project. This project will enhance diversity and training of a workforce to participate in team science across disciplinary boundaries, which can address challenging socio-environmental issues.
Nutrient pollution associated with agricultural production is a persistent issue in many of the world’s most economically and ecologically valuable watersheds. Many agricultural practices that threaten ecosystem health persist because they deliver economic benefits to landowners. Recognizing this, governments have considered or implemented diverse policies to preserve ecosystem health. However, the relative merits of these policies depend upon 1) program cost, 2) the behavioral responses of farmers to the policy, and 3) the ecological impacts of land use and management changes that result from the policy. Furthermore, human behavioral responses are not static, but can change as a changing watershed influences both their economic opportunities and their perceptions of these issues. A changing environment means that what works to reduce nutrient pollution today may not be as effective in the future. An approach that links both environmental and social sciences in a way that emphasizes the strengths of each is needed. The proposed environmental system model will simulate how field-level changes in land use and management will translate to watershed-level changes in water quality. The environmental laboratory experiments will indicate whether the intrusion of saltwater predicted with sea level rise will alter the effectiveness of biological processes at reducing nutrient pollution. The human systems approach, through the analysis of surveys and economics laboratory experiments, will model how different policies alter land use, how incentive programs can crowd out voluntary best management practices, and how highly visible changes to ecosystem quality (e.g., harmful algal blooms) change perceptions of ecosystem health (for the farmer, community, general public) and land management decisions. This proposal addresses how environmental change (i.e., salinization and sea level rise) modifies nutrient cycling in ways that could shape human decisions on managing the food-water nexus. The proposed work will advance understanding of (i) how external drivers (e.g. policies and environmental change) influence land use decisions; (ii) which land use decisions will mitigate negative ecosystem impacts now and in the future; and (iii) how management and policy decisions influence socio-environmental outcomes. This examination will result in a deeper understanding of how ecosystem outcomes can be sustainably improved in the face of changing markets, environment, and policies. The development of an integrated socio-environmental model will inform the policies that promote best management practice adoption, both today and in the face of future sea-level rise scenarios. This proposal examines how decisions that support sustainable agriculture will ensure that rural regional economies continue to support a diverse population. This work will provide evidence in support of policies that promote healthy ecosystems and benefit individuals across every socio-economic status. The human system model will allow for heterogeneity in preferences and decision making based on demographics, which will make the model easier to adapt to other watersheds and thus lead to more generalizable findings. This project will also provide students with real data to interpret the impact of land use and management on coastal watershed health. Data analysis problems will be developed for public school students in grades 3-8 and teacher training will be provided to enhance adoption of classroom materials. Project results will be used as teaching material in lectures and problem sets to teach the dynamics of integrated socio-environmental systems in existing disciplinary and new interdisciplinary courses at undergraduate and graduate levels. Last, the team will conduct Community Learning Exchanges in which students, teachers, families, and community members engage in educational activities and conversations surrounding the project findings.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
