People in Ecosystems/Watershed Integration (PEWI): A dynamic land-use and ecosystem service tradeoffs assessment tool

Why PEWI? How agriculture can produce outcomes that society desires How we can learn – Complex social-ecological relationships – Ecosystem service tradeoffs How we can facilitate urban-rural dialogue

An analogy The analogy of a sandbox is a great way to think about PEWI Why a sandbox?

Friends and a sandbox

The right tools and a design

The finished product…until

Create something new

What if there were a virtual “sandbox” to explore humans, land use, and ecosystem service in a watershed?

PEWI is that sandbox Fun, simple, and accurate Explore land uses and ecosystem services without technical expertise or the costs of experimenting in the real world

Introduce PEWI Models how changes in land use and management result in tradeoffs in the levels of ecosystem services outcomes in a fictional Iowa agricultural watershed

Introduce PEWI Models how changes in land use and management result in tradeoffs in the levels of ecosystem services outcomes in a fictional Iowa agricultural watershed 4 concepts: 1.Land use and management 2.Watershed 3.Tradeoffs 4.Ecosystem Services

1. Land uses and management

2. What is a watershed? When water hits land, runoff drains to a stream, lake, or larger waterway. A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place.

3. What are ecosystem services? Ecosystem services are “the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfil human life” (Daily, 1997). Ecosystem services are “the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. These include provisioning services such as food and water; regulating services such as flood and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual, recreational, and cultural benefits; and supporting services, such as nutrient cycling, that maintain the conditions for life on Earth” (UNEP, Millennium Assessment Reports).

Modified, with additions, from the Millennium Assessment Supporting Services  Biodiversity & Ecosystem Functions  Nutrient Cycling | Evolution | Soil Formation | Spatial Structure | Primary Production Provisioning Services Food Fresh Water Fuel Wood Fiber Biochemicals Genetic Resources Regulating Services Climate regulation Disease regulation Water regulation Water purification Pollination Cultural Services Spiritual & religious Recreation Ecotourism Aesthetic Inspirational Educational Sense of place Cultural heritage

4. Tradeoffs among ecosystem services Adapted from Foley et al. (2005). Photos from Iowa DNR (left), USDA NRCS (middle), and Sarah Hirsh (right)

PEWI land uses

PEWI physical feature maps

Behind the scenes 7 modules in PE/WI  16 ES indicators – Biodiversity – Game Wildlife – Carbon Sequestration – Nitrate – Phosphorus – Erosion & Sedimentation – Yield

PEWI results

User designs

Compare two designs

Check PEWI out online PEWI Companion Website – PEWI App – Iowa State University Project Leaders – Prof. Lisa Schulte Moore – Prof. John Tyndall – Carrie Chennault