Team Project, Sustainable Science: the Future of Food, Energy, and Water

Team Project, Sustainable Science: The Future of Food, Energy, and Water

Part One: Getting to know PE/WI and establishing goals

Please summarize some important aspects of the physical characteristics of the model, and discuss how these characteristics might influence land use decisions.

Topography:

Flood frequency:

Strategic wetlands:

Drainage class:

Think about each of the indicators or metrics that PE/WI measures. Define each metric in your own words. Please make sure to write the units (metric) for each measure. In addition, for the metrics in red, write a few land uses or spatial locations that might improve the indicator.

Alfalfa yield:

Cattle supported:

Corn yield:

Hay yield:

Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield:

Mixed fruit and vegetable yield:

Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield:

Soybean yield:

Timber production:

Erosion control/gross erosion:

Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading:

Sediment control/in-stream delivery:

Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration:

Biodiversity:

Game wildlife:

Carbon sequestration:

Explore the effects of each type of land use on the metrics above. Cover the entire watershed in each one of the land uses. Fill in each chart below, and write 2-3 sentences describing the positive and negative implications of that land use.

Corn

Indicator / Units / Value
Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration

Conservation corn

Soybeans

Conservation soybeans

Alfalfa

Mixed fruit and vegetable production

Hay

Herbaceous bioenergy

Pasture

Rotational grazing

Wetland

Prairie

Conventional forest

Conservation forest

Woody bioenergy

Summarize the effects of the land use decisions in the table below. If there is a tie for land uses, please note that.

Indicator / Land use with highest / Land use with lowest
Alfalfa yield
Cattle supported
Corn yield
Hay yield
Herbaceous perennial bioenergy yield
Mixed fruit and vegetable yield
Short-rotation woody bioenergy yield
Soybean yield
Timber production
Erosion control/gross erosion
Phosphorus pollution control/in-stream loading
Sediment control/in-stream delivery
Nitrate pollution control/in-stream concentration
Biodiversity
Game wildlife
Carbon sequestration

For each indicator, provide a 2-3 sentence explanation of why the land use was the lowest and highest. Note if there were any results that surprised you.