DEVELOPING INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS TO SUPPORT FARMLAND PRESERVATION FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES (FARMPRES)

between 1992 and 2012, almost 31 million acres of american farmland was irreversibly lost to development. farmland preservation is difficult to implement because it requires cross-sectoral policy decisions and financial investments, but obtaining buy-in from diverse stakeholders at multiple levels requires an improved understanding and communication of the multiple benefits, or 'ecosystem services' that society obtains from agricultural lands. the overarching goal of this project is to develop novel approaches to accurately measure, and effectively communicate, the multiple es provided by agriculture, so that as a society, we can make informed decisions about where, when, and how to preserve farmland. in this seed proposal, we combine biophysical assessments of ecosystem services provision, research into the policy mechanisms and obstacles to farmland preservation, and deep engagement with diverse stakeholders to identify integrative, cross-sectoral solutions for farmland preservation that maximize ecosystem services provision. we have assembled a transdisciplinary team of scientists and stakeholders focused around a pilot case study in the boise (idaho) metropolitan area, where our recent research predicts that up to 64% of farmlands will be converted to developed land uses by 2100. our case study area is representative of issues confronting farmland and communities throughout the us, and will inform the submission of a standard afri grant targeted on a larger region in fy 2020.