GGrantIndex
← Search

INCREASING BIOENERGY DEMAND AND ENERGY SECURITY CONCERNS HAVE DRIVEN POLICY AND RESEARCH ON BIOENERGY PRODUCTION AND ITS LINK TO SUSTAINABLE AGRO-ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT. COUPLED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND AGRO-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS MODELS ANALYZE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL AND COMPLEX PROCESSES: BIOENERGY PRODUCTION CHANGES LANDUSE AND THUS REALLOCATES ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. WE AIM TO MODEL SPATIALLY-EXPLICIT OPTIMAL BIOENERGY PRODUCTION SYSTEMS GIVEN EXISTING RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARDS (RFS2) AND EMERGING AND FUTURE DEMAND FOR BIOENERGY AS A JET FUEL THROUGH 2040. WE PROPOSE TO EXTEND MODERN PORTFOLIO THEORY (MPT) FOR USE IN SUSTAINABLE AGRO-ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT, AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS ARE MODELED AS AN ECOSYSTEM PORTFOLIO, LAND USE CHANGES ARE INVESTMENTS, AND BIOENERGY PRODUCTION AND OTHER ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ARE RETURNS FROM THESE INVESTMENTS. THE MPT EFFICIENT FRONTIER DEPICTS THE MINIMUM RISK ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN EXPECTED RETURN OVER CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIOENERGY POLICY UNCERTAINTY. USING MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASINS AS AN APPLICATION, THE FIVE-INTERACTIVE APPROACH IS PLANNED AS BELOW:(A) SIMULATION OF LANDUSE CHANGES USING THE POLYSYS MARKET EQUILIBRIUM MODEL, (B) A REGRESSION-BASED WATER QUALITY MODEL,(C) CALIBRATION OF ECOLOGICAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES BASED ON LANDUSE CHANGES,(D) VALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN DOLLAR-METRIC VALUES WITH BENEFIT TRANSFER, AND(E) FINDING THE EFFICIENT FRONTIER OF BIOENERGY PRODUCTION ROBUST TO POLICY UNCERTAINTY UNDER THE GIVEN CLIMATE CONSIDERATIONS WITH MTP ANALYSIS.THE FINAL OUTPUT WILL INCLUDE A SPATIALLY-EXPLICIT BIOENERGY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PORTFOLIO USEFUL FOR FEDERAL AND LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS MAKING SUSTAINABLE AGRO-ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT DECISIONS.

$456,932FY2019National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

Mississippi State University, Mississippi State MS

Investigators

View source on USAspending →