WILD BIRDS CAN IMPART BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SERVICES (E.G. POLLINATION AND NATURAL PEST CONTROL), AND DISSERVICES (E.G. CROP DAMAGE AND DISEASE TRANSMISSION) TO GROWERS EACH YEAR. A GROWING CONCERN IS THAT AGRICULTURAL SIMPLIFICATION AND INTENSIFICATION WILL TIP THE SCALES IN FAVOR OF SPECIES MOST LIKELY TO POSE SIGNIFICANT RISKS TO FOOD SAFETY AND PRODUCTION. ALTHOUGH TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN AVIAN-MEDIATED SERVICES AND DISSERVICES RESULTING FROM AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES ARE INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZED AT A LOCAL-SCALE, THEY HAVE YET TO BE QUANTITATIVELY EVALUATED ACROSS BROAD SPATIAL EXTENTS THAT ARE MOST RELEVANT TO FARM MANAGEMENT AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS. GIVEN THE DIVERSITY OF FARMING PRACTICES THROUGHOUT THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES, GROWERS NEED TARGETED YET GENERALIZABLE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WILL ENHANCE THE LONG-TERM BENEFITS PROVIDED BY WILD BIRDS WHILE MINIMIZING THEIR RISKS. OUR PROJECT WILL INTEGRATE SPATIALLY-EXPLICIT LAND COVER AND AGRICULTURAL CENSUS DATA WITH CITIZEN-SCIENCEBIRD BIODIVERSITYDATA SETSTO (1) DETERMINE THE CONSEQUENCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AND FARMING PRACTICES ON AVIAN-MEDIATED ECOSYSTEM SERVICE TRADE-OFFS THROUGHOUT THE US, (2) EXAMINE HOW COMMUNITY-STABILITY - AN UNDERLYING DRIVER OF LONG-TERM ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROVISIONING - VARIES ACROSS REAL-WORLD GRADIENTS OF LAND USE AND LAND COVER, AND (3) DELIVER FINDINGS TO GROWERS THAT PROMOTE THE ADOPTION OF NEW ONLINE TOOLS THAT OFFER REGIONALLY-TAILORED BIRD-MANAGEMENT ADVICE. OUR PROJECT WILL THEREFORE PRIORITIZE ACTIONS THAT IMPROVE AVIAN-MEDIATED ECOSYSTEM SERVICE TRADE-OFFS, ENHANCE THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES WITHIN AGROECOSYSTEMS, AND PROMOTE THE ADVANCEMENT AND ADOPTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT ASSIST GROWERS WITH PLANNING.
$165,000FY2019National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA
The Nature Conservancy