INFEWS/T2: Sustainable Agriculture in the Nexus of Food, Energy, Water and Nutrient on National and Global Scales

University Of Maryland Center For Environmental Sciences, Cambridge MD

Investigators

Abstract

To meet the growing global demand for food and bioenergy, agricultural production must nearly double by 2050, placing additional pressures on land and water resources. How and where to increase agricultural production is critical for the sustainability and resilience of food and energy supply, but is poorly understood. Therefore, we will synthesize multidisciplinary data and develop models to assist decision making on agricultural intensification strategies, including technology advancement and international trade. This project will advance the knowledge in the food-energy-water system regarding sustainable and resilient agricultural production on national to global scales, while providing timely inputs to ongoing changes in national policies regarding agriculture, trade, environment, and national security. The overarching goal of this project is to develop and evaluate strategies on national and global scales that increase agricultural production sustainably with an integrated cyber-human-physical system. To achieve this goal, the project will: 1) develop an indicator system and a database to measure several aspects of sustainability and resilience of agricultural production; 2) analyze and model the impacts of technologies and management practices, resource inputs, and climate on yield; 3) improve the representation of crop management in the Global Change Assessment Model to project the impacts of agricultural intensification; 4) develop a decision-support tool to optimize domestic intensification and international trade for sustainable agricultural production; and 5) pilot a cross-cultural learning exchange program to engage American and Chinese high schools in system thinking in the context of agriculture sustainability.