IN 2010, THE USDA PROJECTED THAT THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES WILL ACCOUNT FOR 49% OF TOTAL BIOFUEL PRODUCTION, PLAYING A CRITICAL ROLE IN MEETING BIOENERGY STANDARDS. WE WILL INVESTIGATE HOW SUSTAINABLE AND ECONOMICALLY VIABLE BIOENERGY PRODUCTION MAY BE ATTAINED IN THE SOUTHEAST, FOCUSING ON MANAGED PINE FORESTS. WE WILL INTEGRATE ECOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO IDENTIFY THE TYPES AND LEVELS OF INCENTIVES REQUIRED TO RECRUIT PRIVATE LANDOWNERS INTO BIOMASS PRODUCTION PRACTICES, AND WHAT IMPLICATIONS DIFFERENT BIOENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGIES HAVE FOR BIODIVERSITY AND THE PROVISION OF FIVE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES (ENERGY, TIMBER, WATER, PEST CONTROL SERVICES, AND RECREATION). TO ADDRESS THIS GOAL, WE HAVE FOUR SUPPORTING OBJECTIVES: (1) QUANTIFYING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES UNDER ALTERNATIVE BIOENERGY APPROACHES; (2) MEASURING PRIVATE LANDOWNERS' CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC VALUES FROM ALTERNATIVE BIOENERGY PRODUCTION PRACTICES, AND IDENTIFYING THEIR PREFERRED BIOENERGY PRODUCTION PRACTICES; (3) QUANTIFYING THE SPATIALLY EXPLICIT IMPACTS AND SUSTAINABILITY OF BIOENERGY ALTERNATIVES BASED ON LANDOWNER PREFERENCES; AND (4) DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS THAT ARE LIKELY TO BE ADOPTED BY LANDOWNERS. OUR PROJECT INCLUDES: QUANTIFICATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN FLORIDA, GEORGIA AND ALABAMA; THE USE OF ECONOMIC MODELS AND SURVEYS TO DETERMINE LANDOWNERS' PREFERENCES FOR DIFFERENT BIOENERGY PRODUCTION PRACTICES (WHICH DIFFER IN INCOME, BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES GENERATED); SPATIALLY EXPLICIT MODELING OF DIFFERENT BIOENERGY SCENARIOS; AND THE DISSEMINATION OF POLICY AND PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS TO POLICYMAKERS, STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, AND PRIVATE LANDOWNERS. AS PER THE AGROECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT PROGRAM PRIORITY AREA, OUR PROJECT EMPHASIZES DATA INTEGRATION FOR DECISION-MAKING, AND VALUATION OF BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FOR LANDSCAPE PLANNING, MANAGEMENT AND POLICY DESIGN.TO ENSURE THAT THE LAND MANAGEMENT PREFERENCES OF BOTH CORPORATE AND NON-CORPORATE LANDOWNERS ARE INCORPORATED INTO OUR ANALYSIS, WE WILL FOCUS ON NONINDUSTRIAL PRIVATE FOREST (NIPF) LANDOWNERS, TIMBERLAND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS (TIMOS), AND TIMBERLAND REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS). NIPFS ARE THE SINGLE LARGEST TIMBERLAND OWNERSHIP GROUP, ACCOUNTING FOR 32.4 MILLION ACRES (59.1%) OF PRIVATE TIMBERLANDS IN FLORIDA, ALABAMA AND GEORGIA. A SURVEY OF NIPFS SHOWED THAT TWO-THIRDS OF THESE LANDOWNERS ARE INTERESTED IN HARVESTING WOODY BIOMASS FOR ENERGY. TIMOS AND REITS ACCOUNT FOR 16.5 MILLION ACRES (9.6%) OF TIMBERLAND OWNERSHIP, AND ARE CONTINUING TO INVEST IN PRIVATE TIMBERLANDS. BIOENERGY PRODUCTION MAY PRESENT AN ATTRACTIVE INCOME DIVERSIFICATION OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE CORPORATE LANDOWNERS.OUR RESEARCH WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST INVESTIGATIONS TO COMPREHENSIVELY ASSESS THE ROLE OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR BIOMASS EXTRACTION ON BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, WHILE INTEGRATING INFORMATION ON LANDOWNER WILLINGNESS TO ADOPT SUCH OPTIONS (AND THEIR VALUATION OF BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THEIR ADOPTION OF BIOENERGY ALTERNATIVES). IT WILL ALSO PROVIDE AN UNPARALLELED ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL LANDSCAPE-SCALE TRADEOFFS REGARDING BIOMASS FEEDSTOCK PRODUCTION, BIODIVERSITY, ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, AND LANDOWNER VALUES. THESE RESULTS WILL PROVIDE CRITICAL INFORMATION FOR SUSTAINABLE BIOFUELS PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTHEAST AND A RIGOROUS TEMPLATE FOR USE IN OTHER REGIONS AND FOR OTHER FEEDSTOCKS. OUR RESULTS WILL PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO IMPROVE THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF U.S. AGRICULTURE.